With little effort, as it happens. Webex teams app not working. While Sky hasn’t made this an easily-accessible option in a settings menu or anything like that, you can turn on developer mode by entering a Konami-style code on. To watch Sky Sports Box Office events on your TV you just need to order online at sports.skyboxoffice.com/events and then download the Sky Sports Box Office app on your NOW device. Don’t have a NOW Smart Stick or Box? You can still order the event and watch on your PC, Mac, smartphone or tablet. Having trouble ordering or watching?
With a huge selection of entertainment, movie and sports channels to choose from, it's easy to see why Sky TV is so popular. But the prices for a full Sky subscription can be eye-watering.
While the lure of shows such as Westworld and Game of Thrones can be appealing, the thought of being tied in to an expensive contract can feel off-putting. The good news is you don't have to take out a long Sky subscription to watch Sky channels.
Read on for more information on TV services that will let you watch Sky TV without a Sky subscription, including Now TV, Virgin Media and TalkTalk.
- How To Put Sky Go On Firestick 2021. In case you are facing the compatibility issue along with the Sky Go app then we need to download using a third-party source. This issue mostly occurs while you download directly from the Amazon Store, but if the app is running perfectly then just skip this guide.
- Compare all of our packages from NOW TV. Sky Signature — standalone TV, not including broadband and calls — starts around £20-£25 per month and can go up to £35 per month.
- The best thing about the NOW Smart Stick and NOW Box is the NOW app, which can give you: The latest must-see TV shows on channels you won’t find on Freeview, plus catch up and on demand box sets with an Entertainment Membership. The latest on demand and live movies with a Cinema Membership. 11 Sky Sports channels with a Sports Membership.
Use our round up of the best and worst TV and broadband providers to discover how satisfied Sky customers are in comparison to those with other suppliers.
Try Now TV
Now TV is an internet TV streaming service powered by Sky. It offers live streaming and on-demand content from popular Sky channels - so, you can watch Sky shows as they're going out live, or catch up on them at a later date.
Crucially, you don't have to be a Sky subscriber to use Now TV. Instead you simply buy 'passes' for a day, week or month to access the channels that you want. When your pass expires it rolls over into a monthly subscription fee, but you can cancel at any time. See how Now TV compares to popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, using our TV streaming service reviews.
Streaming services broadcast over the internet, so you don't need a satellite dish to watch Now TV (though you do need a broadband connection of at least 2.5Mbps or a mobile signal of 180Kbps if you plan to watch using 3G or 4G).
You'll also need a device that can use the Now TV app. Some smart TVs come with this preinstalled, but if yours doesn't, you can watch Now TV in a few different ways.
One of the easiest, cheapest ways to watch Now TV is to buy a dedicated Sky Now TV box or smart stick, which cost as little as £15. This may even include a trial of free passes to watch the content, which in effect pays for the cost of the Now TV box itself.
A YouTube box will also give you access to the Now TV app - or you can install the app on a tablet, smartphone or PC.
Find out more in our guide: What is Now TV?
Add Sky channels to a service from another provider
If you've already got a TV subscription with a different provider, such as Virgin Media or BT TV, you can add most of Sky's channels to these services.
To do this, you add a 'bolt on' to your existing pay TV service. For example, you can pay BT £16 a month to add 11 Sky Movie channels to your package. There's usually no contract to do this, you just pay on a monthly basis.
If you're looking for some channels to keep the little ones happy, you can simply add children's channels to yourTV and broadband bundle - for example TalkTalk's Kids Boost adds nine children's channels, including Nickelodeon, Boomerang and Cartoon Network.
Use a shared Sky subscription
If a friend or family member already subscribes to Sky, then you can register as a secondary user and still watch Sky shows.
Now TV (see above), for example, allows you to register up to four compatible devices (such as a Now TV box, a laptop, or a tablet). The service lets you watch programmes on two devices at the same time, so four members of an extended family won't all be able to tune into Game of Thrones simultaneously on different devices.
Alternatively, Sky Go is a streaming service that allows Sky subscribers to watch programmes away from the home. This lets Sky customers register two devices (or four, if you pay more for Sky Go Extra).
In effect, this would let you log in to watch Sky programming if you used the account details of a family member who has a Sky subscription. However, users are meant to be part of the same household as the primary Sky account holder, according to Sky.
Read our Sky TV and broadband review to find out what Sky customers had to say about the service they receive in our latest satisfaction survey.
..or, stick with Freeview
If you decide that none of the above options work for you, then one alternative is to stick with Freeview. It may not offer the same sports or movie range as Sky, but it still gives you a huge selection of channels for no cost at all (other than the charge for a TV licence).
With the addition of a Freeview PVR, you can pause, rewind and record live TV, as well as setting a planner and series-link. These are all features you would get with a Sky box. You won't, however, have access to the same sports, movies and entertainment channels. Head to our round-up of the Best Buy Freeview PVRs to see which models impressed the experts in our lab.
If that's not enough for you, and you want even more channels, then Freesat offers more than 200 channels and on-demand TV from the likes of the BBC and ITV. To get it, you just need a Freesat box or a TV with Freesat built-in, plus a Freesat satellite dish. As with Freeview, there's no ongoing subscription cost. Read in depth reviews of all the latest models using our Freesat PVRs and set top box reviews.
Five features to look out for when buying a power bank
Best and worst UK mobile networks revealed for 2021
New 2021 TVs: are their launch prices cheaper than last year’s ranges?
Which? to remove Best Buys from mobile phones with less than a year of support
Sky Now Tv Box
We’re big fans of Now TV, which offers a contract-free, flexible way of enjoying shows, movies and sports in your home. However, out of the box you’ll find that Now TV is missing some key features, including a way to play any movies and shows from a hard drive. Here’s how to turn on developer mode and install third party apps on your Now TV box, to remedy the situation.
One of the main things we really don’t like about the Sky-branded Roku streamer is that there’s no native media player. The Now TV box actually has a USB port and supports microSD memory cards, so of course you’d expect that you could easily connect an external hard drive or some other media and watch your downloaded video on your TV. But no, in its vanilla form that’s strangely not possible.
Thankfully, it’s dead easy to download and use apps such as Plex, Emby and PlayTo on your Now TV Box. While these apps won’t directly support plug and play, you can at least stick your content on a home media server and then play it on your TV via the Now TV device.
So how do you actually get those apps (and other third party programs) on your Now TV Box? The answer is the developer mode.
What is Now TV developer mode and why would I want to do this?
Turning on developer mode lets you install third party apps on your Now TV box, which aren’t available to directly install from the Channel Store. This is a process called ‘sideloading,’ as you’re loading in an app from a side door, so to speak.
While it’s called ‘developer mode’ it’s actually not that hard at all – you don’t need to know anything about PHP, SQL, Agile or any of that other guff the Tech Support nerds always carp on about.
How can I turn on developer mode on my Now TV box?
With little effort, as it happens. While Sky hasn’t made this an easily-accessible option in a settings menu or anything like that, you can turn on developer mode by entering a Konami-style code on the controller.
On your Now TV Box remote, enter the following, on any screen:
Home, Home, Home, Up, Up, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right
If you’ve done it correctly, you should see the following screen.
Now Tv Stick Sky Golf
Write down that IP address. Do it. Now.
Make a note of the IP address and admin username. These are essential for later, so write them down, save them in Google Docs or wherever’s most convenient. Remotesight. Unless you’ve got a photographic memory and perfect recall, don’t go beyond this stage until you’ve noted down these two things. If you don’t any you forget them, you will have wasted your time.
Does Now Tv Stick Have Sky Go
Once you’ve saved your IP address and admin name, you’ll be prompted to create a password.
Create a password. Write that down too.
Once you’ve entered your password (which you should save unless, as noted, you have a perfect memory), agree to the terms and conditions. Your Now TV Box will then restart.
Once that’s done you’ll see the same loading animation you saw when you set it up for the first time. This should only take a couple of minutes after which you’ll be greeted with the familiar home screen.
I’ve enabled developer mode! Now what?
Congratulations, you’ve turned on developer mode! Give yourself +10 Internet Points.
While nothing seems to have changed on the surface, you’re now free to start installing third party apps on your Now TV Box. We’ll take you through how to do that now.
How to install third party apps on the Now TV Box
Installing or ‘sideloading’ third party apps onto the Now TV Box is really easy. The first thing you’ll need to do is find the app or service you actually want to load on to here.
As an example, we’ll show you how to install Plex, as it’s easily available and it’s a good service that’ll let you stream files stored on your network on your Now TV Box, even files the hardware itself doesn’t officially support.
You can get hold of a copy of Plex from this GitHub page. This is maintained by Plex developers, we’ve tested it out on numerous devices and can vouch for its reliability. It should go without saying that when you’re installing third party apps, only install things you trust.
Hit the ‘Download ZIP’ icon over on the right. Save the ZIP file somewhere you can easily get hold of it, like on your desktop, in the downloads folder, or wherever you keep stuff.
Once you’ve done this, open a fresh browser window or tab and enter the IP address. If done correctly, you should see a screen like this:
Now enter the username (which is always ‘rokudev’) and the password (which you wrote down/committed to memory earlier) and hit ‘Enter’. If done correctly, you’ll now see a rather dull-looking grey page:
Yes, it’s sparse and ugly, but it works. All you need to do is click ‘Browse’, find the ZIP file you want and hit ‘Install’.
If everything goes to plan, you should see a screen like this:
The Now TV menu on your TV screen should immediately refresh and you should see Plex (or whatever you’re installing) sitting pretty next to all the other services.
If you run out of space and want to remove third party apps, you can repeat the process described above and click ‘Delete’ next to the currently installed application.
And that’s that! Your Now TV Box is now good to go.
Best apps for NOW TV in Developer Mode
Once you’ve got your NOW TV unlocked and working as a wonder machine that is a Developer Mode unit you’ll notice this is all very Roku like. That’s because they’re essentially the same thing. As such, if you can side-load a “channel” as they’re called on Roku, then you can likely have it up and running on your NOW TV too. Since this has been an option for a long time on Roku there are plenty to pick from.
Nowhere TV is a good place to start which is just one app from a selection of “Nowhere” offerings. The TV version lets you play a host of TV channels from varying websites including BBC, some HBO, NBC, NHL and more. The Nowhere Bullet is fun too as it’ll push notifications from your Android phone to your TV. Check out the full selection at the Nowhere Man website.
There are plenty more options which we’ve already summarised in our best Roku private channels guide, which also applies to NOW TV devices in Developer Mode. Take a look for our suggestions of the best apps you can download right now.
For a complete list of all Roku channels, point your browser here.