Sky's Now TV confirmed to launch in Ireland

Occono

https://buzz.ie/sky-set-to-launch-online-telly-service-now-tv-in-ireland/

I've been so long without Sky now (Just Saorview, Netflix and so on) that only Game of Thrones is what I've been missing in terms of shows, it'll be nice to not have to go to lengths to watch that anymore.

Agent Coulson

Wait till the pricing is revealed and it's double the price here compared to the pricing in the UK.

icdg

The big, big thing about Now TV is that - in the U.K. at least - it offers a legal way to watch Sky Sports on a TV without taking out a full Sky package. Makes it one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, ways of getting a full Sky Sports package (to take Sky Sports on satellite, you must also take the Sky Original Bundle).

It's also very useful for renters who can't commit to a 12 month or longer contract and those who can't get a satellite dish for whatever reason.

The Specialist

Delighted to hear this, its a brilliant service if you only want Sky Sports for a couple of matches or events. The 24 hour pass works out around 6.99 from what i can remember of the last time I used it.

Peppa Cig

Is the uk TV Now currently accessible in Ireland?

How can if be accessed as you need uk address ?

The Specialist

Peppa Cig wrote: »

Is the uk TV Now currently accessible in Ireland?

How can if be accessed as you need uk address ?

I accessed it through a PC using my Sky username and password to enter the site. I don't recall any problems with an address, it just gave package options and then through to payment (the prices are in £).

FightingIrish

I have about 20 brand new NOW TV boxes, anyone interested, pm me, thanks.

jimmycrackcorm

The Specialist wrote:

Delighted to hear this, its a brilliant service if you only want Sky Sports for a couple of matches or events. The 24 hour pass works out around 6.99 from what i can remember of the last time I used it.

Not such a bargain if you're watching your team matches once a week, 28 for the month.

Agent Coulson

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Not such a bargain if you're watching your team matches once a week, 28 for the month.

Still cheaper than getting it without having to pay for another bundle if all you want is Sky Sports and nothing else.

The Specialist

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Not such a bargain if you're watching your team matches once a week, 28 for the month.

Depends how you look at it. I have only used it for a couple of munster games but the difference between viewing the game on Now TV or a stream is massive.

28 for a month with no contract is ok value to me, keeping sky sports for a month on a standard box is about that anyway, with a 30 day cancellation period so it works out less.

Coillte_Bhoy

Ive been getting it for months now, simply use a UK postal code when signing up

FightingIrish

€28 a month is MADNESS

Luke-m

The website is live now. It's certainly on the expensive side. Here it is. http://www.nowtv.com/ie

postsnthing

Wow 15 euro for entertainment or movies is mental and looks like no kids option. That's some Irish tax can't see it being successful here

Occono

So, assuming I understand correctly, it's £7 in the UK for the TV pass...which is about €8.24. Rounding up a bit is expected, but it's nearly twice the price. I didn't expect it to be that bad, I guess because it's not like we don't know how to check the UK price....

Movie pass is £10, around €12, closer but still Irish tax.

...Oh, and it's €65 for a 6 month pass. It's €32 for a UK six month pass. Yikes.

For comparison, the standard Netflix plan is £7.50 in the UK and €9.99 in Ireland. The UK price is €8.82 by google's conversion, which when factoring in the drop in value of sterling after Brexit seems fair to me.

Peppa Cig

Those Ireland prices are very disappointing!

There will be very limited uptake

Mantis Toboggan

50 euro per month to watch sky sports.... Errrm no thanks!

LeBash

Sky is mad money. I'd be happy with 28/month. They lost champions league and half the champions cup, as well as losing a premier league package, yet the price went up. That's when I cancelled.

icdg

They have to really careful pricing this. Price the service too cheap and they will have their own DBS customers moving to it! (Indeed I have long held the theory that is the reason why Ireland has had to wait so long for this service when all of Sky's other markets - where FTA holds a much greater % of viewing). So the challenge is to make it attractive to the more casual customers that can't or won't commit to a long term contract (because they're renting for a term shorter than 12 months, or the landlord won't let them put up a dish) while not losing the well paying satellite customers. In Sky's other markets this is aimed at pay-TV refuseniks. In Ireland, it's a slightly different game because of pay-TV's hold on this market.

It's still the cheapest way of getting a Sky Sports package on your TV, perhaps excepting some limited time deals (Eir has one recently but seems to have gone) that go up significantly after a number of months. Every other provider, including Sky satellite, demands you take a basic TV package (comprising mainly of FTA channels and Sky One) before you can take Sky Sports. The cheapest Sky satellite package with Sky Sports is ?55 for the first six months but climbs to ?70 after that.

To look at some other elements. There's no smart box for Ireland it seems, and no buy in from the FTA channels with the notable exception of Channel 4. The entertainment pass offers same channels as UK with the notable (but expected) absence of ITV Encore.

Tigerandahalf

So the entertainment pass is €15 plus €50 for Sky Sports making it €65 per month and no itv or bbc channels?
No BT channel option either.

No record, pause or rewind function.

I can see the day/week passes being popular for big games like the Lions test matches, a big soccer match or the Ryder cup but other than that it may not be attractive.

The fact that you are still missing the BT channels is a killer of this product to buy on a monthly basis.

icdg

I think the big point is, you don't have to take the entertainment pass if you only want sport. On every other provider you must take a basic TV pack. I think the expectation is that you'll use it as a supplement to a Saorview/Freesat system to only get the pay channels you want.

Tigerandahalf

icdg wrote: »

I think the big point is, you don't have to take the entertainment pass if you only want sport. On every other provider you must take a basic TV pack. I think the expectation is that you'll use it as a supplement to a Saorview/Freesat system to only get the pay channels you want.

Fine if you have a satellite dish or uhf aerial.

A lot of people don't have that option and would want to receive Irish and Uk channels plus the sports option.

The fact that this has no option for BT channels or Eurosport is very limiting for a monthly subscriber.

Does the entertainment pass include Irish channels?

icdg

Nope. The only UK terrestrial channel it includes is Channel 4.

It will never include BT channels though. BT will never do that deal even in the UK. They only deal with Sky for an EPG listing and conditional access services. They aren't part of any Sky or Now TV pack. If you want BT channels and don't want a dish, then Eir Broadband might be an option.

Agent Coulson

Also the Sports Pass is a recurring charge so be careful and remember to cancel if you only want it for a month.

Tigerandahalf

Eir seem to be ahead of the competition on this.

A combined fibre broadband/tv package is appealing to a lot of people plus you can add your mobile.

I'd be surprised if Vodafone don't jump in at some stage and look for a share of sports rights.

I think Tesla in Australia bought up sports rights down there for afl or some other sport.

The availability of the freesat channels for free in Ireland is a killer for many of these offerings as Vodafone/Sky/Eir/Virgin are adding €30 to a package to include these channels.

Even if BT offered a monthly online subscription for €20 it would be €70 p/m to include Sky Sports as well.

It looks like the whole sports rights domain is going to become really fragmented with people having to subscribe to various monthly subscriptions.

You would wonder if some sports rights will go back to free to air or just free to air through Youtube or whatever means.

Occono

icdg wrote: »

They have to really careful pricing this. Price the service too cheap and they will have their own DBS customers moving to it! (Indeed I have long held the theory that is the reason why Ireland has had to wait so long for this service when all of Sky's other markets - where FTA holds a much greater % of viewing). So the challenge is to make it attractive to the more casual customers that can't or won't commit to a long term contract (because they're renting for a term shorter than 12 months, or the landlord won't let them put up a dish) while not losing the well paying satellite customers. In Sky's other markets this is aimed at pay-TV refuseniks. In Ireland, it's a slightly different game because of pay-TV's hold on this market.

It's still the cheapest way of getting a Sky Sports package on your TV, perhaps excepting some limited time deals (Eir has one recently but seems to have gone) that go up significantly after a number of months. Every other provider, including Sky satellite, demands you take a basic TV package (comprising mainly of FTA channels and Sky One) before you can take Sky Sports. The cheapest Sky satellite package with Sky Sports is ?55 for the first six months but climbs to ?70 after that.

To look at some other elements. There's no smart box for Ireland it seems, and no buy in from the FTA channels with the notable exception of Channel 4. The entertainment pass offers same channels as UK with the notable (but expected) absence of ITV Encore.

Speaking as a "Pay TV refusenik", blegh. Irish Netflix is equivalent to the UK service, this is a ripoff.

Pelvis

€50 for a monthly Sports pass is outrageous.

loyatemu

surely it's only a matter of time before the Premier League ditch Sky and BT and sell their product directly - you could buy a season ticket for your chosen club, or for the whole thing using a Netflix-style app.

icdg

That is a much broader question. If anyone could do it, it would be the Premier League. They are already paying IMG to produce television coverage of every game that Sky and BT aren't at, something practically no other sports league in the U.K./Ireland does. But It would be a big risk. They'd have to forego a guaranteed massive upfront payment from Sky and BT, with none of the risk as far as subscriber take up is concerned, to move to a situation where they'd have to take on all the risk of subscriber numbers, management, marketing, etc.

The club Pass idea will just not happen, although I've no doubt the bigger clubs would like it to. Go down that road, and it once it becomes well established that the big clubs are well outselling the smaller ones, and the bigger clubs will soon be clambering for the end of the collective rights deals and the start of individual club rights deals.

loyatemu

icdg wrote: »

That is a much broader question. If anyone could do it, it would be the Premier League. They are already paying IMG to produce television coverage of every game that Sky and BT aren't at, something practically no other sports league in the U.K./Ireland does. But It would be a big risk. They'd have to forego a guaranteed massive upfront payment from Sky and BT, with none of the risk as far as subscriber take up is concerned, to move to a situation where they'd have to take on all the risk of subscriber numbers, management, marketing, etc.

The club Pass idea will just not happen, although I've no doubt the bigger clubs would like it to. Go down that road, and it once it becomes well established that the big clubs are well outselling the smaller ones, and the bigger clubs will soon be clambering for the end of the collective rights deals and the start of individual club rights deals.

What happens with those games that IMG cover - is there a catch up service?

I still think it's ridiculous that you can't watch all the matches live, at least from outside the UK. Arsenal are playing Leicester tonight - one of the biggest clubs against the reigning champions. It's not on TV and you can't legally stream it - ludicrous.

Homer

Pelvis wrote: »

?50 for a monthly Sports pass is outrageous.

They are all delusional.. Virgin are trying to sell the Joshua v Klitschko pay per view boxing for ?22 in SD!!!! in 2017 and they want that for SD!!! Any wonder I ditched them and get it elsewhere

icdg

loyatemu wrote: »

What happens with those games that IMG cover - is there a catch up service?
.

They are available for live broadcast to broadcasters outside of the UK and Ireland (some restrictions apply to continental European broadcasters in relation to Saturday 3pms). As for catch up, Sky offer extended coverage of every Saturday 3pm game in their "Match Choice" on Saturday evening, and there is of course Match of the Day.

flutered

can the subs on ebay be used with the irish now tv box
also the ccline buisness is over from next month, will their users go back to $ly or will the iptv services get a huge surge in subs, even if the biggest company was put out of buissness in spain and bulgaria

del roy

flutered wrote: »

can the subs on ebay be used with the irish now tv box
also the ccline buisness is over from next month, will their users go back to $ly or will the iptv services get a huge surge in subs, even if the biggest company was put out of buissness in spain and bulgaria

Is this the boxes connected to the internet?

vrt12

A good super Sunday for a tenner isn't bad. I'd be tempted rather than putting up with Brad Friedel commentary and buffering. It would only be an occasional thing though on a good day of football.

Tigerandahalf

vrt12 wrote: »

A good super Sunday for a tenner isn't bad. I'd be tempted rather than putting up with Brad Friedel commentary and buffering. It would only be an occasional thing though on a good day of football.

I am thinking of the same for the Lions rugby series. As it is on in June a single monthly pass would cover all the games.
Is there an immediate catchup service since you can't record?

A bit worried about the rolling monthly contract and if you don't cancel straight away you would be charged for 2 months. The usual tricks they play.

flutered

i know its not about this box, but the roku3 with or without plex could be a cheaper option, could it be used for this

Full_Circle_81

I can't seem to find it mentioned anywhere on their site, but does anyone know if the boxsets and live channels are in HD?

Occono

The European pay TV company first launched Now TV in the UK in 2012. Based on current exchange rates, the passes have lower prices in that market, with the entertainment month pass costing £6.99. Ms MacKay said the Irish pricing was based on “what would make sense here”.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/sky-brings-now-tv-on-demand-service-to-ireland-1.3061851

I'm going to hire a skywriter in the middle of Dublin saying "**** you Sky", who wants to pitch in?

gizmo81

Arrrggghhhh it's so annoying. A NowTv box in the UK comes with a three month free entertainment pass but not here. That added to the price jump in the packages is @$%?@?$%^

helimachoptor

Full_Circle_81 wrote: »

I can't seem to find it mentioned anywhere on their site, but does anyone know if the boxsets and live channels are in HD?

Yes and some

flutered

del roy wrote: »

Is this the boxes connected to the internet?

yes

Dave..M

Full_Circle_81 wrote: »

I can't seem to find it mentioned anywhere on their site, but does anyone know if the boxsets and live channels are in HD?

720 max , no 1080 on anything

Pelvis

Has anyone used the service? What's the min speed requirement? I'd be tethering on a 4G connection, which has always been fine for Netflix and the like.

RayM

Just signed up to the 14 day trial. Turns out they've launched the Irish version without bothering to make it compatible with a Chromecast. Cancelled immediately, in case I forget and end up giving them €15 for a service I can't watch on my TV.

It's not like every show/channel I want to see isn't available to watch via illegal methods anyway.

uck51js9zml2yt

Don't know why people are bothering with the Irish version when the UK version works fine.
Just got a month movies for £4 on eBay and spent the weekend watching movies in my UK account.

flazio

RayM wrote: »

Just signed up to the 14 day trial. Turns out they've launched the Irish version without bothering to make it compatible with a Chromecast. Cancelled immediately, in case I forget and end up giving them €15 for a service I can't watch on my TV.

It's not like every show/channel I want to see isn't available to watch via illegal methods anyway.

Can you not plug your laptop into your TV hdmi port?

Full_Circle_81

^ I didn't think any version of it was compatible with a Chromecast though? Same complaint I'd have about the Amazon Prime Video app. Is the UK version of NowTV compatible?

And sorry, but having to plug your laptop into your TV to watch something is a bit archaic in 2017. I used to use that as a workaround for watching stuff on the big-screen before casting and apps were a thing.

Tigerandahalf

Chromecast is available on the uk version.

The thing is sky can't rip off uk subscribers because the person there has access to freeview - all the free to air channels plus catch up tv etc. Saorview are due to bring out a similar system at some stage (long wait!) which will add further competition to Sky in Ireland.

Sky are basically adding €30/40 to a package here so people get access to some of these channels. Even at that not all of the bbcs or itvs are available on Sky.

I reckon Sky are wary of offering chromecast compatability here as some people would likely ditch their existing packages, get a free to air combi (saorview and freesat) system and just pay Now tv for sports or movies or whatever.

One of the things saving Sky here is the lack of HD on tv3 and tg4. It is keeping people with Sky especially for people who can't put up a satellite dish.

Maybe Sky/Now tv will offer Chromecast compatability at some stage as I doubt many will sign up if they can only watch on a laptop or phone.

People are already getting streams on the net that can be cast to the tv.

fungie

Its ridiculous that chromecast is supported in uk but not here. Is it possible to get a UK account and chromecast it?

loyatemu

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Saorview are due to bring out a similar system at some stage (long wait!) which will add further competition to Sky in Ireland.

Are they? They've tried in the past and failed to get a commercial deal off the ground, can't see it happening at this stage.