Now TV & Broadband

Now TV and broadband deals offer customers access to flexible TV content and budget broadband services.

Now TV memberships are available to suit different tastes, with entertainment, cinema and sports options all covered. Customers can also add HD content to their TV plan using the Boost extra. These memberships can all be cancelled at any time, so customers are not tied into a TV contract in the same way they would be with Sky.

Now broadband is often one of the cheapest broadband options on the market, with the focus very much on budget broadband rather than flashy extras or offers. However, Now broadband is also one of the few packages to come complete with anytime calls as standard, meaning customers who still use their home phone may save money by switching to Now.

Customers looking to sign up to a Now broadband deal can subscribe for a fixed term of 12 months or pay extra upfront and take the service on a 30-day rolling contract that can be cancelled at any time.

Now is a budget broadband provider, so their deals are basic and don't come with the superior routers or extras we find with premium ISPs like BT. In addition, Now only offer superfast broadband speeds of up to 63Mb - much slower than the ultrafast deals we see from the likes of Virgin Media, Hyperoptic and EE.

Yet for customers looking for a straightforward broadband deal at a straightforward price, Now are a good contender. Their broadband deals come with anytime calls as standard, something that would add pounds more to bills with most other ISPs.

Similarly, Now TV memberships offer customers a contract-free and flexible way to watch Sky content. This will appeal to many customers who like the idea of watching Sky Cinema or Sky Sports but just don't want to sign up for a fixed term contract with Sky and would rather watching flexibly through Now TV instead.

There are three Now broadband plans available with different average speeds. Brilliant Broadband is basic copper broadband offering average speeds of 11Mb while Fab Fibre and Super Fibre offer average speeds of 36Mb and 63Mb respectively.

All these broadband packages can be taken on a 12-month contract or customers can pay extra upfront to access rolling contracts with no fixed term.

Now TV membership deals are all taken on rolling contracts, so customers can always cancel within 30 days. Even if a customer takes both Now TV and broadband plans, they can cancel the TV element at any time.

Customers do not have to take Now TV and broadband packages together or even sign up at the same time.

Full details on the prices of Now TV and broadband deals can be found in the table above.

The price Now broadband customers pay each month is the same whether customers take a 12-month deal or prefer to sign up for a rolling contract - the extra costs for the privilege of taking a 30-day deal are added to the set-up fees instead.

Now TV memberships come in various types and these all have different prices, with the most expensive being the Sports Membership as that includes access to live Sky Sports content. Other memberships (these used to be called "passes") are much cheaper, and there are occasionally introductory discounts for customers to enjoy a few months of a membership at a lower price.

Now don't always offer discounts to bundle broadband and TV services together, although there may be special offers linking certain fibre broadband plans to the popular Entertainment Membership option.

It's important to note customers do not need to commit to any fixed term when signing up to a Now Membership, even if they sign up to a TV plan at the same time. They are free to cancel the TV element whenever they like. However, if a customer signs up to a discount deal on the Entertainment Membership mentioned above, for example, they will not be eligible for the discounted rate should they decide they want to start up their TV membership again.

Most Now TV memberships operate on a rolling monthly basis. Customers do not need to commit to a long-term fixed contract to watch Now TV and the service can be cancelled at any time.

The only membership that offers a daily option is the Sports Day Membership which allows customers access for 24-hours from the point they begin watching sports content with the sports pass. This is a one-off payment and does not automatically renew as other memberships do.

Customers who take monthly plans from Now TV with a view to cancelling them later should set reminders to ensure they don't miss the date and accidentally renew their subscription when they intended to cancel instead.

Five different Now TV deals are available for customers to choose from: Entertainment Membership, Cinema Membership, Kids Membership, Sports Membership and hayu Membership.

Entertainment Membership comes with access to on-demand content and the following live channels: Sky Atlantic, Sky One, Sky Witness, Sky Nature, Sky Comedy, Sky History, Sky Crime, Sky Documentaries, MTV, Comedy Central, Gold, National Geographic and Syfy.

Cinema Membership comes with on-demand access to an ever-changing roster of over 1000 movies including a new premiere every day and access to Sky Originals.

Kids Membership provides 1000s of episodes of kid-friendly TV shows on-demand and allows streaming of six live kids channels: Boomerang, Cartoonito, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr and Nicktoons.

Sports Membership offers live access to 11 Sky Sports channels: Sky Sports Premier League. Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports F1, Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Darts, Sky Sports Racing, Sky Sports Golf, Sky Sports Mix, Sky Sports Action, Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Main Event.

Finally, hayu Membership is for fans of reality TV and allows on-demand access to over 8000 episodes of reality TV shows.

All channel rosters are subject to change at any time.

Now TV and Sky offer different experiences, with Now memberships being a great way of watching popular Sky content without needing to sign up to a long-term contract.

Now TV provides access to some of Sky's top content, including the flagship Sky Atlantic channel and much of the UK's best live sport.

Yet the most basic Sky TV deals come with around 300 channels including many specialist channels that simply don't make it across to Now TV. It may be that a customer's TV preferences aren't covered by Now TV and they need to look seriously at Sky's deals instead to find a package that suits their needs.

Read our comparison of Now TV vs Sky TV for further details.

Now TV boxes have largely been phased out in favour of the Now Smart Stick. This means that customers no longer need a set-top box to watch their subscription content and can simply plug the Smart Stick into the back of their TV and watch in that way.

However, that isn't always necessary either. Now TV is compatible with over 60 devices including some smart TVs, games consoles, other TV sticks and mobile devices. Customers don't need specialist gadgets to access Now - the service will likely work on equipment they already own.

The flip side of this, though, is that customers do not receive any equipment when they sign up to Now TV as none is technically needed. If customers do want a Smart Stick, they will need to buy one for themselves.

Customers signing up for Now TV memberships will not receive any equipment with their subscription.

Now do sell a Smart Stick that can be plugged into the back of a customer's TV to allow them to stream content through their television, yet this is optional and customers will need to buy it separately. Since Now content can be streamed through 60 devices including most mobile phones and tablets, there is no need for Now to provide free equipment, therefore keeping the prices low and allowing customers to cancel their TV memberships at any time.

Now broadband customers will receive a router when they sign up to Now broadband deals. This is called the Now Hub 2 and is a repacked version of the Sky Q Hub.

The router is a little outdated compared to the ones their parent company are using, but it's perfectly adequate for delivering superfast speeds averaging 63Mb to typical homes.