The only real downside to Now compared to its main rivals is that all that content is split up into the company’s five different subscription packages: Entertainment, Cinema, Hayu (reality TV), Kids, and Sport. If you want movies you need Sky Cinema, priced at £11.99 per month; if you want TV boxsets and all the latest big US shows such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead you want Entertainment, priced at £9.99 per month; and if you want to watch US reality TV like Keeping up with the Kardashians or Real Housewives you need the Hayu pass, which is £3.99 per month. Kids and Sky Sports are fairly self-explanatory, with Kids costing £3.99 per month and Sky Sports day, week, and month passes costing £9.99, £14.99 and £33.99 respectively. There’s also a Sky Sports mobile pass that offers four channels of live Sky Sports TV for £5.99 per month – but only if you watch from your phone.
Now free trials
The good news is that the Entertainment, Cinema, Hayu, and Kids passes all come with free 7-day trials, so you can sign up now, watch what you want, then cancel your subscription and never pay a penny. It’s a good way to find out whether you’ll benefit from the service without it costing you anything. Sign up here for a free Now Entertainment Pass trial Sign up here for a free Now Cinema Pass trial Sign up here for a free Now Hayu trial Sign up here for a free Now Kids Pass trial Sadly there’s no free trial for the Sky Sports pass, so the best you can do is try it out with the £9.99 day pass or £5.99 mobile pass. Or you could always try one of these other options.
Now bundles
There are other ways you can net yourself free Now streaming, too. For example, Vodafone offers a free 24-month Now Entertainment Pass with all its Pay Monthly Red Entertainment plans – or you can choose Spotify, Prime Video, or Sky Sports Mobile if you prefer. Similarly, if you’re looking to grab a new games console, Game includes a free two-month Now Entertainment Pass with most of its PlayStation 4 and Xbox One console bundles. You probably shouldn’t spend a few hundred quid on a console just for a Now pass, but if you’re planning to buy one anyway it’s worth keeping in mind – especially since you can then watch Now through the console itself. If you buy a Now Smart Stick you can also get extended free trials. Argos offers the Now Smart Stick with a one-month Sky Sports Pass for £39.99, or with one-month Sky Cinema and Entertainment plus a Sky Sports Day Pass for £29.99. Marie is Editor in Chief of Tech Advisor and Macworld. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she’s worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our English language, French and Spanish consumer editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry’s transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.
