Sky unveils hybrid Now TV box

Sky will launch a new Roku-powered Now TV box later this year, giving users access live linear TV channels for the first time, alongside on-demand content.
The revamped, hybrid set-top box will let Now TV customers access more than 60 live, free-to-air TV channels – as well Now TV’s on-demand packages of content and other web-powered services like the BBC iPlayer, All 4, YouTube, Facebook and Spotify.

Sky will be the first company to deploy the Roku-produced box, which will also be available to other operators as part of the ‘Roku Powered’ partnership programme.

Roku’s vice president of pay TV, Andrew Ferrone, said that the new set-top will allow operators to “bridge the gap between linear broadcast and streaming TV services”. Gidon Katz, director of Now TV, added the device will be a “one-stop box to get a contract-free, flexible way of watching the best of pay TV and free-to-air content all in one place.”

Customers using the current generation of Now TV box will get a new user interface from February, which will include a new homepage and editorial recommendations of what to watch on Now TV.

The new Now TV box will combine seamless access to over 60 free-to-air channels alongside Now TV’s usual pay TV content and catch-up TV apps. Sky promises that the new box “will be our most advanced Now TV product to date and will offer a streaming service to customers who want to access live free-to-air television alongside some pay content, all in one integrated offering.”