Cut-price dish-free Sky channels are now available on YouView -- for free. You can watch Sky's online service Now TV on your YouView set-top box, bringing Sky Movies to your goggle box without coughing up for a Sky subscription.
Now TV is free for the first month -- so that's 30 days of movies from Sky's film channels, long before they reach other TV channels or online services.
With Now TV, you can watch Sky programmes on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad and selected Android smart phones -- not the Samsung Galaxy S3 or any Ice Cream Sandwich phones, though. You can currently watch Sky Movies from Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony, Warner, Universal and more, on demand or as part of a £15 monthly contract. Classic films cost 99p to rent and newer releases are £3.50.
Sky Sports is set to follow shortly for Premier League, Test cricket, and Formula One action.
When you sign up to Now TV, you can watch on two devices, such as your YouView box and a phone or tablet. I can understand why the folks at Sky would limit the number of devices -- they don't want you logging in on your friends' phones for free films all round -- but two is a bit tight. If you own a TV, a computer and a phone, you're stuck, let alone if you have a tablet or a laptop as well.
YouView is the set-top box that turns any television into a smart TV, uniting catch-up and on-demand services into one slick interface. It's still early days for the service, and we've yet to see whether it will take off with the public, but we're impressed by the technology. Hit play on our video below to see YouView in action:
Our biggest gripe with YouView is that the first box is too expensive at £300, although we're expecting cheaper deals to come from broadband providers including TalkTalk.
Does this make YouView more attractive or does it still have a way to go before you're tempted? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
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