IPTV vs NOW TV: What the Memberships Cost and Where They Stop

A note on who is writing. Vivimate sells a general IPTV subscription to households in the US and Canada; we have no connection to NOW and earn nothing from it. All NOW figures here come from NOW's own help pages, read on November 8, 2026, and stay in pounds because that is how NOW prices them. This page reports no measurements of our own, so it sets out terms and leaves the choice to you.

Two different ways of selling television

NOW is Sky's streaming service. NOW's own description lists Sky Originals, US drama, Sky Cinema and live sport, delivered through an app on smart TVs, sticks, consoles, laptops and phones. There is no dish and no long contract. Instead, you assemble the service from memberships: one for entertainment, one for films, one or more for sport.

A general IPTV plan, ours included, works the other way round. You pay one price for a fixed term and get the whole lineup the seller carries, played through a player app on a device you already own. The technology is close to identical. What differs is the menu, the price model and, most of all, whose channels they are: NOW sells Sky's, under Sky's agreements.

NOW TV membership prices, one by one

Each price looks modest on its own. The question is how many you would hold at once, so here is a typical household that wants drama, films and sport on a Full HD screen:

That household pays £58.97 a month. NOW also offers 6 and 12-month Saver plans, and its minimum-term page says they are not always available, are paid monthly at a fixed rate, end only when the term is over, and roll on at the standard price unless you cancel. No Saver prices appeared on that page, so we quote none.

Boost and Ultra Boost: screens and picture

The base memberships play on one screen at NOW's standard picture quality, and on-demand shows carry ads. NOW's Boost page explains the two upgrades:

The same page adds detail that matters for sport. Boost shows Sky Sports at 50 frames per second. Ultra Boost gives All Sky Sports and Sports Day holders four live UHD channels, gives Multi-Sport only Sky Sports F1 in UHD, and gives the Football membership no UHD channel. A two-TV family that prices NOW without Boost is pricing a service it can't use the way it watches.

Side by side with a prepaid IPTV plan

The UK-only rule, and what it means here

NOW's travel help page says you can't take a membership with you when you travel outside the UK, and that streaming within the EU stopped on 29 December 2020. Downloads made before you leave still play offline. For most readers of this site, in the US or Canada, that settles the matter: NOW is not a service you can sign up for at home, and we don't suggest any way around its terms.

If you are comparing from North America, look at what is sold locally. Our IPTV vs YouTube TV comparison and the guide to IPTV in Canada cover that ground, and IPTV in the UK gives the UK picture for anyone weighing NOW from there.

Which fits whom

• NOW may fit a UK household that wants Sky's shows, films or sport without a Sky box, and likes switching memberships on and off.
• NOW may fit someone who needs one event, not a season: a Sports Day costs £14.99 for 24 hours.
• A prepaid IPTV plan may fit a household outside the UK, or one that would rather pay once for a term than track several monthly charges.
• In every case, the channel you care about most decides it. Confirm it is listed before you pay anyone.

Testing before you pay

1. Search for your channels by name in the trial's guide, one at a time.
2. Watch at your busiest hour. Plan on about 10 Mbps per stream for HD, 15 Mbps for Full HD and 25 Mbps for 4K; the internet speed guide explains why.
3. Run two screens together if your home does. How IPTV connections are counted covers the limits.
4. Install on the TV you actually use, following the device setup guide.

Where Vivimate fits

Vivimate is a general IPTV subscription priced in US dollars, prepaid, with no contract and no automatic renewal. Plans for one device cost $19.99 for 1 month, $29.99 for 3 months, $39.99 for 6 months and $69.99 for 12 months + 2 free; the two-device prices are $31.98, $47.98, $63.98 and $111.98 respectively, all on the plans page. We promise no Sky channel and no other named channel, and we don't publish the rights agreements behind our channels; IPTV technology is legal, and the seller's rights decide the rest, as our guide to IPTV and the law explains.

The 24-hour free trial needs no card. Your first plan has a 7-day money-back guarantee when a service problem you report can't be fixed; the refund policy lists the exclusions. For the other UK pay-TV comparisons, see IPTV vs Sky TV and IPTV vs Virgin Media.

Sources

All NOW help pages read November 8, 2026; the update dates are NOW's own.

• What is NOW (updated October 20, 2026)
• Entertainment membership (updated November 3, 2026)
• Cinema membership (updated November 6, 2026)
• Sports memberships (updated October 20, 2026)
• Boost and Ultra Boost (updated October 29, 2026)
• Minimum-term (Saver) plans and watching abroad

Couldn't read: no page failed to load. Couldn't confirm: Saver plan prices (NOW shows none) and whether Ultra Boost's £9 is charged monthly (implied, not stated).