Viewers and members of a new paid digital service of Sky would now be able to access to the films, a number of television shows and live sport like the Premier League matches on any TV set with the use of a low-cost plug-in stick which would be launched by the company soon. Through this launch the company appears to be directly taking on the likes of Netflix and Amazon Video.
This move by Sky is being viewed as the TV broadcaster’s direct retaliation to the fast proliferation of U.S. based digital streaming services like Netflix. The smart stick service is being launched for the Now TV streaming service of Sky. The new device would operate very similarly to that off Netflix and Amazon’s Fire TV stick. The device simply needs to be plugged on to the back of any star TV set.
A downlead service is also being launched by Sky. There had been demands by kids to enable them to download. Such a download option turned out to become very popular among the users and customers of Amazon and Netflix who desired to watch shows on holiday and yet not make use of any internet or Wi-Fi connection.
“If you are away at a conference or work you can plug and play TV from a hotel room, although most people will use it on holiday,” said Gidon Katz, managing director of Now TV. “And by the summer holidays people will be able to take Now TV away with them and not worry about data charges for films.”
The broadcaster has been attempting to move beyond the traditional focus of getting into agreement with customers for long-term contracts for the satellite based TV packages and the new product to be launched by the company is aimed at providing a cheaper and more flexible way of watching Sky.
In the U.K., only about £14.99 for the smart stick and remote would have to be paid for a customer and in this way the customers would be able to avoid expending a much higher amount for a high-end Sky set-top box. Additionally, customers also have the option of choosing to make purchase of Now TV day- or week-passes to watch box sets, films and Premier League sport and there would be no need to get into monthly contracts agreements.
At the present moment for Sky, TV is considered to be the lower cost streaming competitor for companies like Netflix and Amazon with a price tag of less than £10 a month. The company also plans to launch a broadband based TV service that would allow users to access the complete range of full service TV without the need for any satellite dish.
In a separate announcement Sky announced the payment of £172 million as dividend to its shareholders for the failure of completion of the takeover deal by 21st Century Fox by the end of last year.
(Source:www.theguardian.com)
This move by Sky is being viewed as the TV broadcaster’s direct retaliation to the fast proliferation of U.S. based digital streaming services like Netflix. The smart stick service is being launched for the Now TV streaming service of Sky. The new device would operate very similarly to that off Netflix and Amazon’s Fire TV stick. The device simply needs to be plugged on to the back of any star TV set.
A downlead service is also being launched by Sky. There had been demands by kids to enable them to download. Such a download option turned out to become very popular among the users and customers of Amazon and Netflix who desired to watch shows on holiday and yet not make use of any internet or Wi-Fi connection.
“If you are away at a conference or work you can plug and play TV from a hotel room, although most people will use it on holiday,” said Gidon Katz, managing director of Now TV. “And by the summer holidays people will be able to take Now TV away with them and not worry about data charges for films.”
The broadcaster has been attempting to move beyond the traditional focus of getting into agreement with customers for long-term contracts for the satellite based TV packages and the new product to be launched by the company is aimed at providing a cheaper and more flexible way of watching Sky.
In the U.K., only about £14.99 for the smart stick and remote would have to be paid for a customer and in this way the customers would be able to avoid expending a much higher amount for a high-end Sky set-top box. Additionally, customers also have the option of choosing to make purchase of Now TV day- or week-passes to watch box sets, films and Premier League sport and there would be no need to get into monthly contracts agreements.
At the present moment for Sky, TV is considered to be the lower cost streaming competitor for companies like Netflix and Amazon with a price tag of less than £10 a month. The company also plans to launch a broadband based TV service that would allow users to access the complete range of full service TV without the need for any satellite dish.
In a separate announcement Sky announced the payment of £172 million as dividend to its shareholders for the failure of completion of the takeover deal by 21st Century Fox by the end of last year.
(Source:www.theguardian.com)
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