Sky’s NOW Slashes Prices Weeks Before HBO Max Launch

Sky’s streaming service NOW has rolled out a new set of deals this week – and with HBO Max arriving on the platform next month, there’s more to unpack here than just the discounts.

If you’ve been confused about what exactly is happening with NOW and HBO Max, you’re not alone – the comments on our recent articles have made that very clear.

So consider this both a deals guide and an explainer, because the two are closely connected.

But first, a word of warning: if there’s one thing I’ve learned from covering NOW’s pricing over the past couple of years, it’s that deals can appear, disappear, and completely change terms sometimes within days.

The offers below are live as of today – but that’s no guarantee they’ll still look the same by the time you’re reading this.

NOW’s Memberships

For those new to the service, NOW (formerly NOW TV) is Sky’s standalone streaming platform. Unlike Sky’s main services, you don’t need a dish, an engineer, or any specific hardware – it works through apps on Smart TVs, streaming sticks, phones and tablets.

NOW has three main memberships:

Entertainment (normally £9.99/month) covers Sky’s TV channels including Sky Atlantic, the upcoming renewed Sky One, Sky Comedy, Sky Crime, and more, plus Sky Originals and exclusive US shows.

Cinema (normally £9.99/month) gives you Sky Cinema channels with new blockbusters and a back catalogue of films.

Sports (normally £34.99/month) covers all Sky Sports channels, including Sky Sports+.

On top of those, there are two optional Boost add-ons that significantly change the viewing experience. Without any Boost, you’re limited to 720p video quality, stereo sound, one stream at a time, and you’ll see adverts on on-demand content.

Boost (£6/month) upgrades you to Full HD 1080p, Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, ad-free on-demand streaming, and two simultaneous streams.

Ultra Boost (£9/month) goes further with up to 4K Ultra HD HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, and three simultaneous streams.

What’s Happening With NOW and HBO Max

After years of waiting, HBO Max – Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service, which has been available across much of Europe and the US for a while now – is finally launching in the UK on March 26.

It’s bringing with it HBO’s full prestige drama catalogue (Game of Thrones, Succession, The Sopranos, The Wire), Warner Bros. films, and new productions like the award-winning The Pitt, as well as TNT Sports (moving over from Discovery+).

The relationship between HBO Max and Sky in the UK is… complicated. For years, HBO content has been the backbone of Sky Atlantic – Game of Thrones, Euphoria, The Last of Us, House of the Dragon all premiered in the UK on Sky.

And despite HBO Max now launching as its own standalone service, that’s not entirely changing. Upcoming seasons of those established HBO shows will continue to air on Sky Atlantic simultaneously with HBO Max.

So if you’re a NOW subscriber watching The Last of Us or House of the Dragon, you’ll still be watching it directly through NOW, just as you do today. It’s only newer HBO productions – like The Pitt – that won’t have that Sky Atlantic simulcast.

From March 26, all existing NOW Entertainment members will automatically be upgraded to a new NOW Entertainment & HBO Max membership – at no extra cost, and without needing to do anything.

That means if you sign up to any of the Entertainment deals below today, you’ll have HBO Max included from next month. New members will be able to sign up directly to the Entertainment & HBO Max membership from the end of March, but there will be two different pricing tiers (more on that below).

However, the version of HBO Max that NOW subscribers are getting is more limited than what you’d get subscribing to HBO Max directly – and it’s worth understanding exactly what you are and aren’t getting.

No standalone HBO Max account

Unlike Sky TV customers, NOW subscribers won’t get a standalone HBO Max account.

Everything will be integrated within the NOW app – you can’t use your NOW subscription to access HBO Max content through the HBO Max app on other devices.

Sky customers, by contrast, get an actual HBO Max account and can use the HBO Max app directly across any supported device.

TV shows only – films are a separate matter

The HBO Max content included with NOW Entertainment covers TV shows only.

HBO Max’s own Basic with Ads tier (£4.99/month direct) includes Warner Bros. films as well – but NOW Entertainment subscribers won’t get those. To access Warner Bros. and HBO films through NOW, you’d need to add NOW Cinema.

That said, it’s not yet entirely clear how the film library within the NOW app will compare to what’s available to direct HBO Max subscribers.

NOW Cinema already gives you Sky Cinema’s new blockbusters and film catalogue, which will include Warner Bros. theatrical releases – but whether that maps neatly onto everything available in the HBO Max film library is something we’ll have a clearer picture of once the service launches on March 26.

The Quality Question

As mentioned, without Boost, NOW subscribers can only watch content in 720p (yes, in this day and age). But what about HBO Max’s titles on NOW?

It wasn’t entirely clear, so we asked Sky directly.

Sky tells us that there will be no change to the NOW streaming experience, and that HBO Max content will be fully integrated into the platform from March 26.

Sky also confirmed that Boost and Ultra Boost benefits will apply to HBO Max content viewed through the NOW app – so Boost subscribers will get Full HD and ad-free on-demand, while Ultra Boost subscribers will get 4K Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos, just as they do with everything else on NOW.

That’s good news for Boost and Ultra Boost subscribers – your enhanced picture quality and ad-free viewing will apply to HBO Max content just as it does to everything else on NOW.

But if you’re on NOW without any Boost, you’ll be watching HBO Max content in 720p.

That’s actually a worse picture than what you’d get subscribing directly to HBO Max, where even the cheapest Basic with Ads tier (£4.99/month) streams in 1080p Full HD.

This is why, when you look at the new deals below, the choice between the Basic and Premium Entertainment Savers becomes quite significant.

Furthermore, from the end of March, new NOW members will be able to choose between two tiers: the new Entertainment & HBO Max membership at £6.99/month (with a 6-month minimum term), and a standard Entertainment membership without HBO Max at £4.99/month (also with a 6-month minimum term).

So if you’re not interested in HBO Max, you won’t be forced to pay for it. 

The New NOW Deals

NOW has overhauled its deals structure this week, and there are now more options than we’ve seen before – including some that bundle Boost directly into the membership price, which is unusual for NOW.

Note that all of these require a 12-month minimum term.

That minimum-term requirement is worth a moment’s thought. When NOW launched back in 2012, it was specifically marketed as the contract-free alternative to traditional Sky – flexible monthly payments you could start or stop whenever you wanted.

Minimum-term deals first crept in during 2023, starting with 6-month commitments. Now, 12-month terms have become the standard for any meaningful discount, and the gap between flexible and contract pricing has never been wider.

The flexible rates remain available if you’d rather not commit, but you’ll pay considerably more for that freedom.

Entertainment deals

There are now three Entertainment offers:

Basic Entertainment Saver – £4.99/month: The Entertainment membership at half the regular price. Includes ads, 720p quality, and one stream at a time. 12-month minimum term, then £9.99/month unless you cancel.

Premium Entertainment Saver – £4.99/month: The same price as the Basic, but with Boost included free for the 12-month term (then £6/month for Boost if you keep it after that).

That means Full HD 1080p, ad-free on-demand streaming, and two simultaneous streams – all for the same £4.99/month (yes, you’re reading that correctly). Normally, Entertainment + Boost would cost £15.99/month, so this is the standout deal of the bunch.

Ultimate Entertainment Saver – £6.99/month: Entertainment with Ultra Boost included for the 12-month term (then £9/month for Ultra Boost after that). You get 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Atmos, and three simultaneous streams. Normally £18.99/month combined.

Given everything we’ve covered above about HBO Max quality on NOW, the Premium Entertainment Saver at £4.99/month is the obvious choice for most people – you get Boost at no extra cost, which means your HBO Max content will be in 1080p and ad-free rather than 720p with ads.

Cinema deals

No ongoing Boost deals here, unfortunately, but these are the current NOW Cinema deals:

Cinema Saver – £6.99/month: Sky Cinema at 30% off. Includes ads, but comes with a free month of Boost for new Boost customers. 12-month minimum term, then £9.99/month.

Cinema & Entertainment Bundle – £8.99/month: Both Cinema and Entertainment memberships together, saving 55% versus the combined flexible price of £19.98/month. Also includes a free month of Boost for new Boost customers. 12-month minimum term.

However, keep in mind that once you get Boost, it applies for every membership you have – so if you want Boost, Entertainment and Cinema, it’ll make more sense so sign up for Entertainment + Boost (£4.99/month), and then add Cinema Saver (£6.99/month) on top – that’s £11.98/month, instead of £14.99/month if you get the Cinema & Entertainment bundle and add Boost on top of that.

It’s also worth noting that the current deals above are better value than these upcoming standard prices – the Premium Entertainment Saver gets you Entertainment plus Boost for £4.99/month, while the future standard tier will get you Entertainment alone for the same price.

So if you’re planning to sign up anyway, doing it now makes sense (though who knows what special offers we’ll see in the future).

Sports deals

Sports has also moved to 12-month minimum terms for its discounted plans – previously, the Sports saver required only a 6-month commitment.

Sports 12-Month Saver – £27.99/month: All Sky Sports channels at 20% off. 12-month minimum term, then £34.99/month.

Sports & Entertainment 12-Month Bundle – £32.98/month: Sports plus Entertainment, saving over 25%. 12-month minimum term.

Fully Flexible Sports – £34.99/month: No contract, cancel anytime.

Boost is not included in any of these – so you’ll have to get it separately and pay on top. Therefore, again, it makes more sense to get the 12 Month Sports Saver (£27.99/month) and then get the Entertainment+Boost deal separately for £4.99.

But there’s also a trick worth knowing about. If you go to NOW’s Sports page, select the Temporary Access tab, and select Day Membership (which is normally £14.99/day), you may be presented with a special no-contract offer: £19.99/month for the first 6 months, reverting to £34.99/month after that. No commitment, cancel anytime.

That’s a better monthly rate than even the 12-month saver, with none of the commitment.

The important caveat is that NOW is well known for showing different offers to different users depending on your device, account history, and previous deals – so this won’t necessarily appear for everyone. But it’s worth a try.

How Does NOW Compare To Subscribing To HBO Max Directly?

It’s worth spelling this out, because the numbers tell an interesting story once you factor everything in.

HBO Max Basic with Ads at £4.99/month direct gets you HBO TV shows and Warner Bros. films (excluding the newest theatrical releases), in 1080p, on two devices, with ads.

NOW Entertainment & HBO Max on the Basic Saver at £4.99/month gets you Sky’s TV channels plus HBO TV shows – but no films, in 720p, on one device, with ads.

NOW Entertainment & HBO Max on the Premium Saver – also £4.99/month, with Boost included – gets you Sky channels plus HBO shows in 1080p, ad-free on-demand, on two devices. Still no films, but a much more comparable viewing experience to HBO Max direct.

NOW Entertainment & HBO Max on the Ultimate Saver, at £6.99/month, with Ultra Boost included, gets you Sky TV channels plus HBO shows in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos, ad-free on-demand, on three devices.

For context, getting that same 4K experience directly from HBO Max would cost £14.99/month for the Premium tier – so if 4K HBO content is what you’re after and you also want Sky’s channels, the Ultimate Saver is remarkably good value – but again, the direct HBO Max subscription also includes the films.

So for anyone who is primarily interested in Sky’s content and the HBO shows together, NOW remains good value – particularly on the Premium Saver.

But if you were hoping NOW’s HBO Max inclusion would fully replace a direct HBO Max subscription, it won’t.

You’re getting a more limited version of the service, built into an app rather than a standalone account, and without the film library unless you add Cinema.

And as always with NOW’s minimum-term deals, the key question is whether you’re confident you’ll want the service for a full 12 months.

The savings are real – but you’re trading away the flexibility that originally made NOW what it was.

If flexibility matters more to you than savings, it’s always worth trying the cancellation flow on your existing NOW membership first – NOW sometimes offers discounted retention deals without any minimum term attached.

You can find more tips like that in our full guide to getting cheaper NOW deals.

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