Sky’s NOW streaming service is asking Premier League fans to make its longest commitment yet. Just in time for the new season, NOW is offering a major discount on Sky Sports… but only if you’re willing to sign a 12-month contract.
It’s quite a shift for a service that built its reputation on being the flexible alternative to traditional Sky contracts.
While you can still get NOW Sports on a rolling monthly basis for the regular £34.99, this new “Saver Membership” marks another step away from the no-strings-attached approach that originally made NOW attractive to cord cutters.
The timing is no coincidence. With the Premier League kicking off and football fans eager to catch every match, NOW is betting that subscribers will accept longer commitments in exchange for saving a few quid each month.
What’s In The New 12-Month Deal?
For those unfamiliar with NOW (formerly NOW TV), it’s Sky’s standalone streaming service that works entirely through apps on various devices – from Smart TVs and streaming sticks to phones and tablets.
Unlike Sky’s main services that require specific hardware, NOW operates on a membership basis with three main packages: Entertainment (normally £9.99/month for Sky’s TV channels including Sky Atlantic), Cinema (£9.99/month for Sky’s movie channels), and Sports (£34.99/month for all Sky Sports channels).
You can mix and match these memberships as needed, and originally, they’ve all been on rolling monthly contracts with no long-term commitments required.
The new Sky Sports Saver Membership gives you access to all 12 Sky Sports channels for £28/month, down from the standard £34.99.
That includes everything from Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League to F1, Cricket, Golf, Tennis and Sky Sports+ – the full works.
However, there’s that big catch: you’re locked in for a full year. Unlike NOW’s traditional monthly rolling contracts, this discount requires a 12-month minimum term.
You can technically cancel before the year is up, but you’ll still be charged monthly until those 12 months are complete.
The standard monthly membership remains available at £34.99 with no long-term commitment, so the choice is yours – pay more for flexibility or save £6.99 per month by agreeing to stick around for a year.
There’s also a £14.99 Day Membership that lets you watch Sky Sports for 24 hours at a time.
NOW also offers two optional Boost tiers that enhance the basic viewing experience. Without Boost, you’re limited to 720p definition video, can only stream on one device at a time, and you’ll see adverts on on-demand content.
The Boost add-ons remove these limitations and add premium features.
It’s worth noting that the Boost add-ons remain on monthly contracts, even if you take the 12-Month-Saver option.
So you can still add NOW Boost (£6/month for Full HD, Dolby Digital 5.1, no adverts on on-demand content, and streaming on up to 2 devices) or Ultra Boost (£9/month, which adds 4K, Dolby Atmos, and streaming on up to 3 devices) without any long-term commitment.
In fact, if you take the monthly Sports membership, you can get a one-month free trial of either Boost tier.
NOW’s Slow Retreat From Flexibility
This 12-month requirement represents another departure from NOW’s original selling point.
When the service launched as NOW TV back in 2012, it was specifically marketed as Sky’s answer to the streaming revolution – no contracts, no installation, just flexible monthly payments you could start or stop whenever you wanted.
The cracks in this approach first appeared in March 2023, when NOW introduced 6-month minimum terms for discounted Entertainment and Cinema bundles.
At the time, we noted how this went against the whole philosophy of cord cutting – the ability to subscribe for a month or two, then cancel and switch to something else.
Now, with this 12-month Sports deal, NOW is pushing even further into traditional contract territory. It’s still not as restrictive as Sky’s main services (which often require 24-month contracts), but it’s a clear signal that NOW is prioritising subscriber retention over the flexibility that once set it apart.
That being said, NOW’s not alone in this – other streaming services, such as Disney+ and Apple TV+, also offer discounts if you sign up for a whole year in advance.
Is £28/Month Actually A Good Deal?
While any discount is welcome, this £28/month price isn’t particularly generous by NOW’s standards. We’ve often seen the service offer Sports memberships for £26/month in the past, and sometimes even lower than that.
And those deals typically came with 6-month commitments rather than a full year.
However, NOW has a habit of changing deals more frequently than most people change their socks. Just last week, they were offering a 6-month Sports discount, and they occasionally run promotions on the flexible monthly plan without any minimum term at all.
The catch is that these offers can disappear as quickly as they arrive – and by the time you read this, the offer might have changed already.
There’s also the old cancellation trick. If you’re willing to play the game, you might try subscribing for a month at full price, then attempting to cancel.
NOW often presents counter-offers to departing customers, sometimes at prices much better than the current £28/month deal.
Of course, there’s no guarantee this will work, and it’s certainly not as straightforward as just taking the advertised discount.
Comparing The Alternatives
NOW can quickly become expensive when you start adding multiple memberships together. Entertainment and Cinema will cost you £19.98/month combined (or £13.99 with a 6-month commitment), while adding Sports brings the total to £54.97/month without contracts.
At that point, you’re paying more than many traditional Sky packages while getting less content – hardly the budget-friendly alternative to Sky that many expected when NOW first launched.
Getting Sky Sports directly from Sky isn’t necessarily cheaper, though it might offer better value depending on your needs.
With Sky Stream, you can currently get Sky Sports for £20/month on a 24-month contract, or £25/month on a rolling 31-day basis. However, you also need Sky’s base package – the cheapest being Sky Essential TV at £15/month (24-month contract) or £18/month (31-day rolling).
This means Sky Sports via Sky Stream costs £35/month with a 24-month commitment or £43/month without a contract – more expensive than NOW in both cases.
However, Sky Essential includes Netflix with adverts, Sky Atlantic, and Freeview channels – as well as the Stream box – so you’re getting more overall.
For those who only want Sky Sports and don’t need the additional channels, NOW remains the more focused option, even with the new contract requirements.
The Bottom Line
If you’re absolutely certain you’ll be watching Sky Sports for the entire Premier League season and beyond, the £28/month deal could make financial sense. Over 12 months, you’d save £83.88 compared to the monthly rate.
However, you’re giving up the flexibility that made NOW appealing in the first place. No popping in for a month to catch a particular tournament, no cancelling during the summer break, and no switching to different streaming services when finances are tight.
And of course, don’t forget that if you want the full Premier League experience, you also need to get TNT Sports – so add another £30.99 if you get it directly (but Virgin Media are currently offering it for £5/month for the first 3 months).
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