Now TV now beamed straight to LG TVs

Now TV coming to LG's 2013 range of Smart TVs
Now TV coming to LG's 2013 range of Smart TVs

LG has revealed that it will be offering Now TV as part of its smart TV line-up - marking the first time the on-demand service has been made available through a television without the need of a set-top box.

Now TV is Sky's non-subscription on-demand offering which comes in two flavours: sports and movies.

This new partnership with Sky will give LG a 12 month head start over the rest of TV manufacturers, according to the company, and will have its own section within LG's smart TV platform. Unfortunately, the app will still be SD like it is on other services.

Speaking about the tie-up, Craig West, Head of Marketing for LG, said: "This marks a significant step for consumer choice, offering them contract-free Sky content, when they want it and for as long as they want it, and now available to directly stream on an LG Smart TV."

TV tie-up

Sky launched Now TV back in July 2012 and has recently ramped up the availability of the service, with the Sony PS3 gaining access, as well as YouView.

LG getting exclusive rights to the TV app does make sense, given the close ties it had with Sky when 3D first came to the satellite service, and LG did note that many of Sky's Now TV adverts going forward will have a distinctive LG tinge to them.

To entice new users to Now TV, LG will be offering three months of free access to Now TV's movie catalogue and three free 24-hour sports passes to those who buy its new home entertainment line-up.

Existing LG users won't get these freebies but will be able to download the Now TV app to their Smart TV when the service goes live in August.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.