Sky's offering in the UK is a combination of: * Sky TV (the satellite TV pay system that remains the dominant pay platform) and requires either a physical satellite dish, or hardware built into specific "Sky Glass" TVs which use IP delivery.
* The separate "Now" brand is their IP-only service. It differs from Sky in that you can pay month-by-month rather than 12 or 24 month contracts. It's also IP delivered and has apps on many of the popular streaming platforms (Amazon Fires Sticks, Apple TV, Samsung, LG, Roku, PlayStation etc). No - I don't know why they have two separate streaming brands that offer exactly the same programming. But you will hear chat show hosts end interviews with stars saying something like "... and you can watch [TV PROJECT] from Friday on Sky and Now." Sky did indeed renew its deal with WBD at the end of last year after taking legal action in New York. The new deal sees many existing WBD continuing to be made available on Sky channels including Sky Atlantic, Sky Comedy and Sky Documentaries. And of course these are disaggregated on the Now platform. When Max launches in the UK in 2026, Sky and Now subscribers will get the ad tier of Max. Continuing HBO shows like The Last of Us, The White Lotus and Last Week Tonight will continue on Sky/Now, but also be on Max. While *new* HBO shows like Harry Potter will be on Max only (although as mentioned, available to Sky viewers). To be honest, I think Sky needs Max and Max needs Sky. Launching a new SVOD into the UK market, even with shows like the upcoming Harry Potter, will not be easy. Sky has more premium UK sport than the WBD owned TNT (which I assume will somehow merge into Max). And Sky still gets the lion's share of pay-one movie windows, plus it has a fairly deep library. That all said, Sky's dominance is creaking. But this is turning into an essay about the state of multi-channel TV in the UK. Returning to the original thread, the reason I was surprised that Good Night and Good Luck was appearing on CNN International was because usually that version of the channel excludes any of the more premium stuff that CNN produces, like their big documentary features and the aforementioned HIGNFY. The docs in particular often show up all over the place as acquired or co-produced programming and CNN really only has the US rights (e.g. the doc Navalny which aired on the BBC in the UK). Adam On Wed, Jun 4, 2025 at 10:49 PM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV < [email protected]> wrote: > They put it on the streamer "Now." Sky explained this back in December: > https://www.skygroup.sky/article/sky-uk-ireland-and-warner-bros-discovery-announce-new-distribution-and-bundle-agreement > (link) > > There is a similarly-named service in the US, but its availability and use > are limited to (certain levels of) Xfinity services from Kabletown. > B > > Mark Jeffries, to Adam Bowie, June 4th: > > And I believe it will stream the next day on what is still for now Max and > wherever Sky places HBO and Max programming. > > I have been proved wrong. This *is* airing on CNN International! > > And now, via Clooney on Seth Myers, there may be a London transfer at some > stage. But in the meantime, I will be watching (well, recording, given it > starts close to midnight UK time). > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/de57c3f3-e737-4fb1-a078-7f5b486c2483n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/de57c3f3-e737-4fb1-a078-7f5b486c2483n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGA43k5JPUJj-O%2BaKvV3a1%3DUS9_pQTa1bTNfNWR8e9db6w%40mail.gmail.com.
