IPTV vs NOW TV — Which Is Better?

NOW TV Passes vs TVNado

The short answer: NOW is priced per content type, TVNado is priced per plan length. The table shows how the two models line up. NOW changes its prices and offers often, so check the current figures on NOW's own price page before you add up your own bill.

How NOW's membership model works

NOW is Sky's contract-free streaming service: you pick memberships, each one billed every month, and you can stop or restart them whenever you like. Entertainment opens the Sky entertainment channels and box sets, Cinema adds the Sky Cinema films, and Sports adds the Sky Sports channels. Better picture quality sits behind a separate Boost upgrade.

That model is fair if you only want one thing at a time. It gets expensive when a household wants all of it, because every membership is a separate line on the bill. An IPTV subscription works the other way round: one login opens the whole lineup and the on-demand library, and the only choices are how many months you pay for and how many devices you add.

What a month of everything costs on each

The fair way to compare is to price the viewing you actually do. Write down which NOW memberships you keep running across a normal year, whether you add Boost, and how many months you buy the sports membership. That total, divided by twelve, is your real monthly NOW cost.

The 12-month plan works out at about $5 a month across its 14 months. TVNado bills in US dollars, so if you pay from a UK card, your bank converts the amount at its own rate. The cord-cutting savings calculator runs the same sum with your own numbers.

The NOW TV Sports Pass Problem

The NOW Sports membership is built for Sky Sports access: Premier League, F1, cricket and golf. It is usually the most expensive part of a NOW bill, and fans who follow a full season keep it running month after month. A TVNado subscription puts sport, entertainment channels and 180,000+ on-demand titles under the same plan price.

For football fans, the season-long sum is where the gap shows. See also: Watch Premier League on IPTV.

Picture quality, devices and the app experience

NOW runs inside its own app, so what you can watch on depends on which TVs, sticks and consoles NOW supports, and the sharper picture needs Boost. IPTV runs in a player app such as TiviMate, IPTV Smarters or IMPlayer, which you choose yourself, on a Firestick, Android TV box, Apple TV, smart TV, phone or laptop.

The trade-off is polish. NOW's app is one product from one company, with Sky's menus and recommendations built in. An IPTV player is more like a tool: you add your login, set the guide and build your favourites list once, and from then on it behaves like a channel grid. Some viewers prefer that; others miss the Sky-style home screen.

One device note: Roku does not carry the main IPTV players, so Roku homes usually add a cheap streaming stick. The IPTV on Roku guide explains the options, and the Firestick IPTV setup covers the most common replacement.

When NOW TV Is Still a Good Choice

NOW is still the better pick in a few clear cases:

• ▸Short-term sports access — day passes or a single month for one event or one part of a season.
• ▸Gift cards — easy to give to family for Christmas or birthdays.
• ▸One show at a time — if you only want one Sky series, a single Entertainment month is hard to beat.
• ▸You want Sky's own app — NOW is an official Sky product with Sky's menus, recommendations and support.

For regular viewing of sport, films and entertainment together, IPTV is the better value proposition.

How to switch from NOW without a gap

Time the switch around your NOW renewal date so you never pay for both longer than you need to:

1. 1

   Find your NOW renewal date

   Sign in to your NOW account and open your memberships. Write down the date each one renews, because that is the day you would next be billed.

2. 2

   Run the TVNado trial on a night that matters

   Request the free 24-hour trial a few days before that renewal and start it on an evening with a match or a programme you would normally watch on NOW.

3. 3

   Check the same channels side by side

   Open the channels you watch on NOW in TiviMate or IPTV Smarters and compare picture, guide data and how quickly each one starts.

4. 4

   Cancel the memberships you no longer need

   If the trial holds up, cancel each NOW membership from your account before it renews. Check on the account page when your access actually ends.

5. 5

   Pick a TVNado term

   Start with one month at $19.99 if you want a longer test, or take the 12-month plan at $69.99, which currently gives 14 months.

If you are also weighing a full Sky package, the IPTV and Sky TV comparison covers contracts and boxes, and the guide to IPTV for UK sport focuses on weekend football.

Questions people ask before switching