Sky unveils Now TV stick and standalone no-contract broadband

At half the price of the Roku Stick and Chromecast, the Now TV stick is an inexpensive, portable way to watch Sky's streaming services at home on your TV.

Sky launched the Now TV streaming box in 2013 for £10. Six years later, it's again releasing an inexpensive home entertainment gadget.

On Thursday, the company unveiled the Now TV stick, a plug-and-play streaming device priced at £15. The announcement came alongside other news from Now TV, including the rollout of downloads, the option to stream in Full HD, and new broadband packages.

The Now TV stick is small enough to easily move from
room to room, or even to travel with.
Katie Collins/CNET

Coming in at half the price of the Roku Stick and the Chromecast, the Now TV stick is an inexpensive and portable way to watch Sky's streaming services at home on your TV. A freshly made-over remote now includes a power button and volume controls for your telly, as well as voice search to help you find and jump into what you want with just a single button press.

The Now TV stick offers a limited number of app options, including BBC iPlayer, but it's primarily geared toward people who want to expand beyond Freeview offerings to pick and choose between Sky services. If you're looking for a device to stream Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, though, this isn't the device for you.

Manufactured by Roku, the Now TV Stick should be available around late February or early March.

Shortcut buttons are designed to make
navigation easier.
Katie Collins/CNET

Sky plans to begin making Now TV content available for download in the spring, starting with its kids content and introducing entertainment and movies in the summer. Toward the end of this year, live and on-demand Now TV content should also be available in Full HD for the first time. Representatives for the company couldn't confirm whether it would charge more for this. The Now TV stick is Full HD ready, so it'll be all set when 1080p content does arrive.

Sky has been offering Now TV broadband and TV packages for around 15 months, but now Now TV broadband will be available as a standalone and contract-free service for the first time. Prices will start at £18 per month for speeds of 17Mbps, rising to £25 for 38Mbps and £35 for 76Mbps.

source: CNET