When you think of new Sky action movie Fuze — starring The Gentlemen's Theo James and Kraven the Hunter's Aaron Taylor-Johnson — I'm sure your first thought is of Taylor Swift.

I mean, how could it not be? Set in London, the new movie follows different people embroiled in a mysterious plot when an unexploded World War II bomb is unearthed at a busy construction site. If that doesn't scream The Life of a Showgirl, I don't know what does.

In all seriousness, the two are genuinely linked, with director David Mackenzie and cast filming the tense, action-packed movie during the same summer that Swift brought her legendary Eras Tour to the UK.

Londoners might recognize Wembley used in external shots, meaning the dubious Karalis (James) and wired Major Will (Taylor-Johnson) had to face off against Swifties for good measure.

Obviously, the two worlds never collide on screen. But while talking to the cast and crew, it's clear that Fuze could have been easily derailed by 2024's Swiftmania... so count yourself lucky to be watching it.

'It could have made our lives a lot harder'

"Not deliberately, no," Mackenzie tells me when I ask if he made his life harder by filming during the Eras Tour.

"We did get very lucky with the weather, because the film takes place over a matter of hours. I was really worried that one scene would be shooting in the rain, and one scene we were shooting in the sun. Actually, it was a really nice summer, you know. It was mostly consistent too... everything else could have made our lives a lot harder."

Star Gugu Mbatha-Raw continues, "Because the movie really unfolds like in that real time, there's some other story structures where you could maybe get away with mishaps, but not with this."

So amazingly, fictional London wasn't brought to its knees by Swifties, just Wembley Stadium across two separate weekends. Yet the Taylor Swift-Fuze connection doesn't stop there.

Both James and Taylor-Johnson joked about attending the tour at the UK premiere, but it turns out that was actually true for the former.

"I went and took my nieces, and it was very nice," James explains. "I went that summer because it was playing... but no, Aaron didn't unfortunately take his daughters. He was working."

Surely they all were, but never mind. The point remains — when you watch London being blown up in Fuze, think of the screaming fans merely a few miles away. Fuze 2: Swiftogeddon, anyone?

• HBO Max UK will launch on March 26, 2026
• Subscribers will have four monthly entertainment plans to choose from starting at £4.99 per month
• The Pitt will launch immediately, alongside new seasons of Euphoria and House of the Dragon

You heard correctly: HBO Max is launching in the UK on March 26, 2026. The release month was confirmed in December 2025, but now we've finally got the first details of what the new streaming subscription will look like.

Subscribers will have four monthly entertainment plans to choose from starting at £4.99 per month, which is cheaper than Netflix's ad-supported tier priced at £5.99. Viewers are able to enjoy the complete HBO Max entertainment line-up, including recently released movies.

Meanwhile, sports fans will be able to access or sign up to a TNT Sports streaming subscription via HBO Max for £30.99 per month.

In the UK and Ireland, the service will be available directly via hbomax.com and via launch partners, including Sky and Prime Video. Through the HBO Max app, Sky and NOW TV customers will get access to the new HBO Max streaming service (often with ads) as part of their existing subscription.

While existing franchises are likely to remain available on all streaming services, exclusive HBO Max content might be limited to the new app, but only time will tell.

Opinion: HBO Max UK's launch date is a genius move for subscribers waiting to watch The Pitt

Don't get me wrong, I'm as excited as the next person for Euphoria season 3, House of the Dragon season 3 and the debut of Lanterns from DC Studios. But Brits have been waiting to watch HBO smash-hit The Pitt for over a year.

Now, not only will they get all season 1 episodes in one go, but March 26 is a whole three weeks before the predicted season 2 finale date of April 16.

As it stands, there's an ongoing yet subtle feud between Doctor Robby (Noah Wyle) and Doctor Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), and everybody is treading on eggshells, including Santos (Isa Briones), who isn't happy with the leadership change.

But that's not all. I'm hopeful that the HBO-A24 partnership will mean hits like Marty Supreme, Sorry, Baby and Materialists will be a lot easier to access across the pond.

Box office monsters such as Superman, One Battle After Another, Sinners, A Minecraft Movie and Dune: Part One are also included as part of the subscription.

Frankly, March 26 can't come soon enough for my liking. I've been lucky enough to watch all of the above in line with US fans, and it's about time that you do, too.

If you're a fan and still haven't signed up, use one of the below deals:

WARNING: spoilers for Under Salt Marsh episodes 1 and 2 ahead.

For those of us patiently waiting for Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch to hit Paramount+, new Sky TV thriller Under Salt Marsh unexpectedly stops our FOMO.

Why? Yellowstone's Beth Dutton herself (aka Kelly Reilly) stars as Jackie, a detective-turned-teacher who finds her young student's body, reopening a cold case from three years prior involving her missing niece, Nessa.

This means she has to work with her former police partner Eric (Rafe Spall), who divided the town while working Nessa's case. The Bevan family wants answers for their little boy, headed up by elusive farmer Solomon (Jonathan Pryce).

Altogether, this has as much family drama as any Taylor Sheridan series, but it's episode 2 that you need to look out for. Just when the stakes get too much to bear, the local community comes together to heal – and according to Pryce, most of it wasn't even planned.

'It's a very personal moment filmed in an epic way'

The town of Salt Marsh (which is fictional, before you head to Wales looking for it) spontaneously comes together for a seaside vigil, lead by Solomon. While many feel discouraged by Bull leading the investigation, Solomon asks for understanding and persistence, leading the crowd to burst into spontaneous song.

"What you see is what you get," Pryce tells me. "It's a very important moment to the show. It's a very personal moment, but it's filmed in a very epic way.

"We're on this wonderful, expansive beach at Barmouth. It's a chance for you to see the family coming together. I'm remembering it now and a lot of it was not scripted. As we came together, singing together, was an extraordinary moment."

For Pryce particularly, Under Salt Marsh marks a homecoming. You might not have realized it from his roles in James Bond and 3 Body Problem, but he's a Welshman through and through.

"I think telling an original story was a big part of the attraction, and the fact that it was to be filmed in North Wales, where I'm from. I've filmed in Wales quite often, but nearly always in and around Cardiff, that area.

"There's the widest fascination with murder constantly in our life, but it's a new way of telling an old story, as it were. There are only so many you can tell, and this has the background of a community that is under threat from the environment. So there's that external threat you see existing in the program, and then there's the inner turmoil in the community where the murders have taken place. There's a lot of mistrust."

Bring on episodes 3-6, I say.

Warning: spoilers for Amadeus episode 5 ahead.

If you're a fan of the original 1984 movie or Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus, you might be wondering why Sky TV feels the need to adapt the fictional rivalry between composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri again.

Luckily for you, episode 5 answers that neatly by completely changing the ending we know from the first two versions. Don't get me wrong – we still experience the Mozart's (Will Sharpe) heartbreaking death and Salieri's (Paul Bettany) realization that he's been acting dreadfully out of pure jealousy.

But now there's more to the story. Many years later, Mozart's wife Constanze (Gabrielle Creevy) is visited by Shaffer to discuss the chance to retell the heated rivalry. After their exchange, Bettany is seen sitting alone on a stage as himself, reciting the last few lines of Shaffer's play.

Not only does this add an entirely new dimension to the infamous story, but the combination of Shaffer and Mozart's death is a massive challenge for our leading trio to tackle. They pulled it off, but not without being scared to death first.

Mozart's death scene in Amadeus episode 5 almost went completely wrong

"It was a lot actually," Bettany tells me about shooting the final scenes. "We were shooting it right at the end, and we knew that the whole thing wasn't going to work unless we got this right. And it was quite a complicated thing to get right, and I went into it with no plan of how to help it succeed.

"But what happened is that by that point, I think we all really learned to trust each other, and I and And I felt safe with them as actors. I think it worked out, though we were frightened."

Sharpe continues, "It was scary. I remember there was one scene where Constanze comes and discovers Mozart's dead body. So obviously I'm trying to hold my breath because I'm dead. And the better you were doing it, the harder it became.

"I feel like, on the first take... it wasn't crap, but it was quite quick. Then on the third take, I remember, like [Gabrielle] absolutely crushing it, and found this like wave of grief that came, and I could feel the tears burning through the sleeve. But I was also like, 'this is going really well!'"

If you're an OG Amadeus fan that is hesitant about watching it afresh... wait for this and prepare to have your mind changed.

A few days before I started watching Amadeus, an influx of young people flooded my TikTok For You Page, playing various Bach pieces on different orchestral instruments while remixing each song with modern music. It was all thanks to a passing trend, but it did briefly make me wonder if classical musical was making a resurgence in digital pop culture.

If those same kids watch the new five-episode Sky TV series, I think they'd be astounded. Amadeus goes far beyond a musical education for the uninitiated, delving further into the supposed rivalry between composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri than previous accounts, including Miloš Forman's 1984 film.

Summing this rivalry up in one word would be easy: unhinged. The pair go far beyond the stereotypical boundaries of 'frenemies,' leaving their desperate acts of reconciliation until it's too late. I would never have paired Will Sharpe (Mozart) and Paul Bettany (Salieri) up to portray this, but their chemistry is undeniable.

What's more difficult to explain are the complexities behind this rivalry. To me, the duo's battles put me in mind of a 1700s version of Peggy Mitchell and Pat Butcher, from UK soap opera Eastenders. I'm in danger of losing non-UK readers at this point, but theirs was a connection that spanned decades, ranging from heartfelt consolation to vindictive plotting and literal fist fights. You never knew where you stood with them, and that was a big part of what made them so watchable.

It's not the best analogy I've ever come up with, but the atmosphere of palpable tension punctuated with violent outbursts means you never fully catch your breath. But, while Amadeus is narratively sound, it's visually questionable.

Sky has saved its best show of 2025 until last with Amadeus

If you look at the YouTube comments on the above video, fans of the 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer, which he adapted for the subsequent movie, aren't pleased that the same tale is about to be retold. However, while it sometimes feels like we can hardly move for TV and film adaptations that cover familiar ground while not bringing much that's new to the party, I don't think Amadeus can be tarnished with the same brush.

Even if both those earlier versions had been flawless (and the three-hour long film is far from structurally sound, in my opinion), another adaptation would be worthwhile if it added a fresh perspective. Luckily for us, that's exactly what Amadeus does.

Without giving too much away, in addition to the story itself the TV series features Shaffer's own journey to writing his play, with the final scene of episode 5 breaking the fourth wall in a way I'm not sure I've ever seen attempted in television. Sky's creative risk-taking has flown under the radar, and the rest of the series is just as ambitious.

Sharpe effortlessly captures Mozart's supposed fiery temperament, and it's the foundation for the rest of the story's chaos. No one episode can contain the multitudes of emotions on show, with either Mozart of Salieri (or sometimes both) crumbling, celebrating, or threatening to jump out of a window (that's our unintentionally hilarious opening, so keep your eye out).

Amadeus throws everything and the kitchen sink at its storytelling, and the charged atmosphere is almost a character in itself.

Some of our cast have 'iPhone face', and that's a problem

As for the actual characters, both Sharpe and Bettany give the performance of their careers. I do wonder whether Bettany is going extra hard to distance himself from upcoming Marvel series VisionQuest, but perhaps that's just me being a franchise cynic.

Gabrielle Creevy (Constanze Mozart) also hits the right note (sorry) as the long-suffering go-between for the musical rivals, but there's something about the cast that bothers me. To me, the younger members (and by that, I mean under the age of about 40) look as though they have 'iPhone face'. What I mean by this is that, looking at them, you can escape the sense that they've seen an iPhone in their lifetime.

The makeup and costumes in Amadeus are beautiful, but they don't hide the fact that some of the cast just feel too modern. Even so, Sharpe particularly surprised me with his raucous, obscene and ridiculously arrogant take on Mozart.

The five-episode run does suffer from the classic issue of narrative lag between episodes 3 and 4, but when everything else has such a frenetic energy to it, this isn't hard to overlook. This of course includes the music, which Sharpe learned to play (rather than just flailing his hands about while the camera is carefully positioned to conceal that fact that he's not really playing).

As captivating as the scandal, drama and intricacies of Viennese society in the 18th century are, it all comes back to the music. It helps us to understand the world, Mozart and Salieri's struggles and ourselves in the process, and it's pushed me to make some conscious additions to my usual Spotify playlists. Their work is what both tortured composers ultimately wanted to be remembered for, and Amadeus certainly does them justice.

Stream Amadeus from December 21 in the UK using the below deals. Streaming platforms and release dates for other regions are yet to be confirmed.

Sky Original's Gangs of London is one of the most violent gangland dramas on TV. In fact, it's so violent, it's almost like it's set in a parallel universe – one where the usually bustling London roads are empty and a raging gang war between kingpins and crime lords can spew onto the streets without anyone blinking an eye.

It's an epic crime saga that completely immersed me, with its bloody punch-ups and chaotic shootouts genuinely making me feel as if I'm the one who has just been brutally throttled by a member of the Albanian mafia.

One thing's for sure though is that Gangs of London season 3 definitely doesn't shy away from the gore-fest. The violence kicks off in episode 1 with a savage fairground battle and a church gunfight in episode 4, but a tense stalk-and-slaughter scenario in episode 5 is where it really sets the precedence for Gangs of London's 'blood opera' – and I can't stop thinking about how unhinged it is.

An umbil-ievable murder

*Contains major spoilers for Gangs of London season 3*

After Kurdish freedom fighter Lale's (Narges Rashidi) ultra-violent fight for survival from Asif Afridi (Asif Raza Mir) in season 2, she comes to blows with the Pakistani gangster and his gun-toting men once again in one of the most imaginative murders yet.

During Gangs of London season 3, we discover that Lale is pregnant with Sean Wallace's (Joe Cole) baby. Instead of killing her, Asif decides to use her pregnancy and her connection to one of the most powerful drug families to his advantage in a bid to gain control of London's underworld.

After being held hostage in Lahore, Lale ends up back in London and manages to escape Asif by hiding in an empty office block. If trying to evade capture from Asif's armed henchmen wasn't hard enough, her potential death turns into a new life when she unexpectedly goes into labour.

Barricading herself in an office while the men are hot on her tail, she self-delivers her baby (shooting one of Asif's men in the process), before going on the run by climbing into the vents with her newborn still attached to her.

Poor Lale has already gone through one of the most painful experiences, but her suffering doesn't stop there as she (now, you need a strong stomach for this part) bites off her umbilical cord and pulls out her placenta.

With her baby crying, she knows her time is nearly up to protect her infant at all costs and the insane cat-and-mouse chase eventually culminates into a stomach-churning conclusion. In a desperate bid to survive, Lale pounces on one goon and strangles him to death with her freshly severed umbilical cord while her minutes-old baby lies nearby.

Gangs of London is utterly ludicrous and completely farfetched, but I've got to admire the inventive action sequences in all its pugilistic glory. Thanks to director Kim Hong-Sun, he's conjured up a memorable and unique fight scene that will definitely remain with me for years to come.

All eight episodes of Gangs of London season 3 launched as a box set on Sky Atlantic and the streaming service NOW on March 20 in the UK and Stan in Australia. While season 3 is currently unavailable to stream in the US, Gangs of London seasons 1-2 are available to stream on Netflix in the US.

You might also like

• Andrew Koji reveals Gangs of London season 3's new mysterious assassin is like 'the human Terminator' in the Sky Original series
• Gangs of London season 3 star reveals how her fearsome character has evolved in the Sky Original series: 'She has channelled all her vindictiveness'
• The Day of the Jackal just broke a Sky viewership record following its success on Peacock

Andrew Koji is no stranger to the bullets and bloodshed of action-packed thrillers, so it's only right for him to star in one of the most violent gangland dramas around: the Sky Original, Gangs of London season 3.

Koji previously starred in Netflix's hit spy thriller Black Doves, crime drama Warrior and the action blockbuster Bullet Train. But in Gangs of London season 3, the actor and martial artist is showing off his brutal brawling skills as mysterious assassin, Zeek.

The third season of the show sees former undercover cop Elliot Carter (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) replace Sean Wallace (Joe Cole) as the drug kingpin of London after sending him to prison. However, life at the top becomes far more dangerous when a batch of cocaine is spiked and kills hundreds of people.

Not only does this trigger a war on drugs for the Mayor of London Simone Thearle (T'Nia Miller), but it also sparks catastrophic conflict between rival gangs as they try to expose which one of them is responsible for the spiking. This is where Koji's moody hitman character comes in to shake up the battle for London, as he mercilessly slaughters gang members left, right and centre.

Zeek operates as a lone wolf and has no loyalties to anyone, with his murderous actions having a huge impact on the top dogs of the criminal enterprises. Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, Koji described Zeek as "the human Terminator" who unleashes turmoil on the gangs.

He told me: "He gets thrown in like a hand grenade or the human Terminator. He enters the world of Gangs of London, he's thrown into the mix and his arrival causes all sorts of chaos. He doesn't have any true allegiances to anyone."

Although, his connections to the gangs may run deeper than we think, as he added: "He's a man who seems to come from nowhere, although throughout the show we will find out who or who he may not be connected to and what his motivations are."

Wince-inducing fight scenes

Gangs of London is known for its savage punch-ups and chaotic shootouts, with jaw-dropping fight scenes that genuinely make you wince. Gangs of London season 3 certainly doesn't shy away from the gore-fest as Zeek and Elliot come to blows in an epic fight for survival.

"I got to do a pretty intense fight scene with Ṣọpẹ́. Elliot and Zeek do come clashing head to head and I get to dance with Ṣọpẹ́, who's a very gifted physical actor, but also a thinking actor. We got to punch the s**t out of each other for three, four days straight," Koji said of their fight sequence together.

Not only do the crazy fight scenes serve as bloodbath entertainment, there's also motivation and a reason behind the sheer violence. "I think with Ṣọpẹ́ being a smart actor we make sure the motivation and the intention of the fight is there and that the emotions are there. Obviously for Elliot, it's very high stakes.

"He's like a wild animal coming out the gates full of rage. He thinks that Zeek's killed his family, whereas Zeek is playing a very different thing. He's more of a strategist and he's more on the defensive, so to get to do that fight scene was very fun," he said.

These choreographed scenes do come with its challenges though as Koji found himself in a battle against the camera equipment (which he won by the way). "The Gangs of London camera style is very up close and personal, especially when it comes to the fights.

"Whereas sometimes I'm more used to wider shots and all that stuff, but this is very up close and one time I did smack a lens hood which went flying. It got obliterated. So we were doing a fight with Ṣọpẹ́, it got really up close and I turned around and the camera was right there and boom, the camera lens hood went flying into pieces," he shared.

Koji "jumped at the chance" to play Zeek as he hadn't seen anyone of his ethnicity play a character like that when he first started out in acting at a younger age.

"To play a character like Zeek, who's interesting, nuanced, bit different but it's got these layers to him," Koji revealed about what appealed to him most about the role. "Andrew that's half my age, just starting out in acting, at the time I don't think I saw an actor of my ethnicity playing a role like this on TV that's integrated and woven into the story in such a way, so I jumped at that chance."

Gangs of London vs Black Doves

Before starring as the bloodthirsty Zeek in Gangs of London, Koji appeared in the hugely popular Netflix spy thriller Black Doves alongside Keira Knightley. In it, he plays Jason Davies, a Ministry of Justice civil servant and secret lover of Knightley's spy character Helen Webb. When Jason is assassinated, Helen uncovers a government conspiracy as she goes on a mission to find out who killed him.

Koji told me how being in Gangs of London compared to being in Black Doves and how he filmed them both at the same time.

"It’s a different job, slightly different genre. One’s a spy thriller, this one is obviously an action crime drama. I was shooting them both at the same time actually. Sometimes I would come from the Gangs of London set straight to the Black Doves set at night, so I was shooting them side by side and having to hopefully channel different characters," he said.

"Gangs of London is a ground-breaking action thriller show mixed with brutal action and gripping family drama set in this London setting. They're both set in London, but this one's got more of a heightened stylized London I'd say. It's the character as well, which is hopefully different, so I guess there's some similarities, some differences."

All eight episodes of Gangs of London 3 launched as a box set on Sky Atlantic and the streaming service NOW on March 20 in the UK and Stan in Australia. While season 3 is currently unavailable to stream in the US, Gangs of London seasons 1-2 are available to stream on Netflix in the US.

You might also like

• Gangs of London season 3 star reveals how her fearsome character has evolved in the Sky Original series: 'She has channelled all her vindictiveness'
• 3 new Hulu series I've added to my watchlist for April with over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes
• A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight – everything we know so far about HBO's Game of Thrones prequel

• Peacock and Sky have renewed The Day of the Jackal for season 2
• The Day of the Jackal has been a huge success in both the US and UK following its launch
• No other details about season 2 have been revealed yet

My day has been made as The Day of the Jackal has been renewed for a second season at Peacock and Sky.

The espionage thriller has been a successful hit on both sides of the pond since it aired on Peacock in the US and Sky in the UK, earning an impressive 84% Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics. The series became the number one most-watched show on Peacock and was a top five streaming original in the US for its opening weekend, according to Nielsen data. Meanwhile, it has become Sky's biggest original of all time, with 3 millions views in one week.

The Day of the Jackal is a modern day reimagining of Frederick Forsyth's 1971 novel of the same name. The 10-part series follows an extraordinarily elusive assassin, the Jackal (Eddie Redmayne), who carries out hits for the highest fee. After pulling off an impressive kill in Munich, he's hired to assassinate a powerful tech tycoon, but he soon meets his match in determined MI6 agent Bianca (Lashana Lynch) as she tails the elite contract killer in a gripping cat-and-mouse chase across Europe.

What can we expect in The Day of the Jackal season 2?

Since The Day of the Jackal is still releasing new episodes in both the US and UK, there's no news just yet regarding plot details for season 2, whether Redmayne and Lynch will reprise their roles, or when we can expect it to return to our screens.

The Day of the Jackal was previously adapted into a 1973 feature film, which saw Edward Fox play the titular Jackal, a hitman who is hired by the French militant far-right to assassinate president Charles de Gaulle in 1963.

Now 27 years later, Sky and Peacock have put a contemporary twist on the source material, which I think has really paid off thanks to the team of executive producers on board, which include Ronan Bennett, Gareth Neame, Nigel Marchant, Brian Kirk, Sam Hoyle, Sue Naegle and Marianne Buckland.

In an interview with GQ, executive producers Neame and Marchant revealed that they were initially hesitant to develop this iconic story into a TV series, but it was too good of an opportunity to turn down. "We both loved the book, and we saw the film when we were kids - I’ve seen the film many times through my life, and always really respected it. It’s such an iconic, gripping story, that to revisit that in a contemporary context, with all the benefits of a multi-episodic show … we thought that would be really interesting to take this much-respected IP and develop it this way” they shared.

With The Day of the Jackal armed for another season, there's one thing that I'm hoping for – more espionage thrills, spills, and kills.

You might also like

• Peacock's new comedy horror series Hysteria! trailer is packed with Evil Dead references that I'm obsessed with
• Currys' early Black Friday deals just got way better with this Sky Glass, Sky TV and Netflix offer
• I track streaming TV prices for a living, and these are the best Black Friday streaming deals so far

When it comes to drama and movies for those of us in the UK, Sky’s dominance over the market has been reined in recent years with the likes of Netflix, Prime Video and Disney Plus all taking bites out of its televisual pie. But, when it comes to sport, and, in particular, football, it’s still a Tyrannosaurus Rex, surveying its kingdom, totally dominant over the market. 

So, when the invitation came up for me to get the chances to have a behind the scenes look at Monday Night Football, Sky Sports’ flagship Premier League offering, where one-time Liverpool and Manchester United greats Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville analyze and eviscerate the action of the previous weekend and talk you through a new Premier League extravaganza, I jumped at the chance to go along. 

Now, for most of you reading this, I know football is gridiron and what we’re talking about is soccer, but as we spent a day behind the scenes at a show quite literally called Monday Night Football, we’ll call it football for the duration of this article. 

Taking a trip down to Sky’s mammoth campus in Isleworth in West London, I was squired around the show’s production, including a brief chat with Neville, Carragher and presenter David Jones. As a lifelong football obsessive, that was exciting enough, but I was then treated to watching the whole thing go on air and play out during Newcastle United’s 2-0 win over Arsenal. 

Now I’ve calmed down a bit, I thought I’d compile my thoughts and share six things that I learned from this peak behind the curtain.

The team starts early. Very early…

Given Monday Night Football doesn’t go on air until 7pm, you might expect a more leisurely start for the production team. But no such luck – most are in at 9am like the rest of us, getting the technical side of things lined-up. Neville, Carragher and Jones arrive for a meeting at midday and it is then the work on the running order starts. As the production team joke throughout our visit, it’s a running order that gets ripped up a good four or five times during the day.  

Sky Sports get the team news before you do…

15 minutes before to be precise. It doesn’t leave much time for Monday Night Football’s team to scramble to find clips if an unexpected player comes back into the team. As we watch things go live, even as the Arctic Monkeys’ Brianstorm thunders through the opening titles, the producers are still running through the early clips in Jamie Carragher’s ear and changing  things around. And you thought facing Premier League strikers was tricky.

Everything is smaller than you think…

The studio where Neville, Carragher and Jones face off isn’t the gargantuan, carpark-esque space you might imagine it would be. Things are kept tight and no bigger than your living room at home. They’re moving to a bigger space for next season – we’ll have to hope that the fizzing debate and intense atmosphere that the two pundits are so great at creating doesn’t fizzle out when they move studios. 

Every Premier League game needs a lot of cameras…

Monday’s (May 16) game, while important in the race to see who will finish in the Champions League places, but not an absolute humdinger, required the use of 14 cameramen and camerawomen. When Manchester City and Liverpool played out a 2-2 draw earlier in the season, Sky enlisted 22 cameras to make sure absolutely everything was captured. Sky has plans to expand this and for the biggest games next season you’ll see that number creeping up towards 30.

Watching in Sky Glass is a step up for sports fans…

Enhanced modes for sports viewing in the past have been haphazard affairs, largely consisting of turning the pitch a lurid, Matcha-tea green or just turning the volume up a few notches, but when you watch a game in Sky Glass, you can feel the step up. 

The experience of watching Arsenal blow their chance of Champions League football on Sky Glass on a 4K UHD Quantum Dot screen with 8.3 million pixels wasn’t quite like the pitchside experience, as the promotional material promise, but the sound is crisp and the picture is so sharp you can see every bead of sweat on the players’ brows. 

Being relegated not only means your team will get worse, so does your viewing experience…

If you fall out of the Premier League, as my beloved Norwich City are about to, then not only do you lose the vast riches of English football’s elite, you will also get a poorer viewing experience when you watch at home. Sky broadcasts the Premier League in UHD HDR with Dolby Atmos, and, while they endeavour to do the same for the English Football League, it’s not the case for every game. It’s hard to imagine any coach in the Championship using that in one of his team talks, but it does make the sting of relegation that little bit sharper for us fans.

• Sky to launch standalone streaming puck that does (almost) everything Sky Glass does

The long rumoured Sky television set, the Sky Glass, has finally been revealed. With all of the best bits of Sky Q built in, the TV range comes in three sizes, each offering 4K quantum dot displays, with a broad range of HDR support and built-in Dolby Atmos sound systems and voice control.

It’s an all-in-one TV package quite unlike any other that’s come before it – and that includes the way you purchase the sets. 

Launching on October 18, not only do you have three screen sizes to choose from (a ‘Small’ 43-incher, a ‘Medium’ 55-incher and a ‘Large’ 65-incher) but you’ve also got the choice of buying the TV outright, having it subsidised against the cost of a monthly fee as you would a phone contract, and also a wide array of TV channel packages that you can bolt on top.

It could get a bit confusing, so let this Sky Glass TV pre-order guide walk you through how to pick the right set up for you ahead of that October 18 release date.

• Hands-on: Sky Glass TV review

How to pre-register for Sky Glass TV

At present, Sky is not taking any orders or deposits on Sky Glass TV sets. However, it is allowing interested customers to ‘pre-register’ their interest in the new televisions. You’ll then be on the list for the latest news and ordering information as they become available.

It’s a simple process – just head over to the Sky Glass pre-registering page. You’ll be asked for your first and last name, email address and phone number. Pop them in and you’ll be first to know when the Sky Glass TV goes on sale.

Sky Glass TV purchasing options

After having a read of our hands on Sky Glass TV review, the first decision you’ll have to make is for what screen size you’re looking to purchase.

If you’re after the 43-inch models, they can be purchased outright for £649, or on a 48-month contract at £13 a month. That works out at a total cost of £624.

For the 55-inch model, you can buy one for £849, or £17 a month on a 48 month contract. That contract’s the equivalent of £816.

Finally, the 65-inch version will be sold for £1049, or £21 a month on a 48 month contract. That monthly fee will cost £1008 by the end of the contract term.

With all the contract options, shorter contracts of 24 months can be negotiated in return for a higher monthly outlay (43-inch, £26pm, £644 total / 55-inch, £34pm, £836 total / 65-inch, £42pm, £1028 total). 

All contracts also include a one-off, upfront fee – £20 for 24 month contracts, and £10 for 48 month contracts. 

Remember though that all purchases currently must be paired with a Sky TV subscription package, so factor that cost in too – more on those next. 

After that, you’ve then got the option to customise the screen’s aluminium casing in one of five colors – blue, green, pink, white or black. Remote controls will be offered in matching colors, while a range of magnetic front plates with various patterns will also eventually be offered at an additional cost.

• Paying for a Sky Glass TV is already way too confusing

Sky Glass TV packages

With the two year minimum commitment on the subscription purchase options proving more affordable than the outright purchases, Sky is obviously banking on you splashing the cash with its TV packages and raking the cash in that way. There are some affordable options here, but the most fun stuff here is inevitably locked behind the more expensive tiers.

The basic package is the ‘Sky Ultimate TV’ bundle. This throws together Sky’s entertainment channels and TV boxsets in with a Netflix subscription for £26 a month. It’s great for binge TV watchers.

If you’re after Sky’s very extensive sports programming that includes loads of Premier League football, golf, cricket and motorsports action, that’s an additional £25 a month. If you want access to the sports content that rival provider BT Sports offer, that’s another £24. With that, combined with the Sky stuff, that’ll be basically all televised paid-for sporting content, aside from what Amazon Prime Video offers.

The best-value add-on is the Sky Cinema bolt on, which costs an extra £11 a month. Sky has a great catalogue of movies from across the ages, and excellent on demand movie boxset packages too, collating complete series of popular movie franchises.

If you’ve got kids running around, you can add the Sky Kids programming, with lots of exclusive characters your little-ones will recognise, for an extra £5 a month.

Perhaps the most cheeky part of Sky’s pricing options is that 4K HDR TV content, and Dolby Atmos options, are locked behind an additional £5 per month add-on, the ‘Sky Ultra HDR and Dolby Atmos pack.’ That feels quite cynical, but will be needed to get the most out of the content you’re watching.

All packages are sold on a 31-day rolling contract, letting you adjust them on a near-monthly basis as your finances allow.

Sky Glass Whole Home options

So what if you’ve already got a TV that you’re in love with, but still want to get Sky Glass’s feature set? Well, at present, whatever happens you’re going to need to buy a Sky Glass TV – but there is a package that will let you additionally add the features to another TV set in your home.

For an extra £10 a month, you can upgrade to the “Whole Home” package, which offers up the Sky Stream Puck. This box, connecting to your old TV over HDMI, will bring all the software features of Sky Glass to your television – but, obviously, won’t magically add Dolby Atmos surround sound or built-in microphones to your old TV set. Think of it like Sky’s equivalent to a streaming stick, though sadly it’s not currently set to be sold separately, hence the requirement to still sign up for one of the Sky Glass TV offers. Each Puck costs a one-off £50 fee.

• Sky Q review: still the best set top box in the business

Update: So, it looks like the rumours were true – Sky is officially launching its own TV with no dish, QLED technology and Dolby Atmos built in – read everything you need to know about Sky Glass.

Original story continues below.

Broadcaster Sky already makes the best set top box and TV interface on the market, and sources now point to the company being on the verge of unveiling its own Sky smart TV too.

Having dominated the paid-for satellite TV market in the UK and Europe for three decades, if the rumors are true it’ll be the first time the company has put together not just the set top boxes and content that lives on your television, but the display hardware to show it off in your living room too.

Sky has always offered a premium, luxurious service when it comes to its subscription packages, and while they don’t come cheaply, they’re worth every penny for those that want access to the latest blockbuster Hollywood releases, live sports coverage from across the globe, prestige TV box sets and an ever-growing list of catch up and app-based TV content from the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Disney.

So what would make a Sky smart TV special? It’s almost a given that the company will include its subscription TV packages as part of any sale, making for a TV set that is sold more like a contract mobile phone than a traditional television. But there’s lots to speculate over – and lots to look forward to – if Sky decides to work on these six things we want to see on a Sky Q smart TV.

• What are the best smart TVs?
• Or the best small TVs
• OLED vs QLED explained

The Sky Q interface

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Sky Q interface is the best set top box software out there. Through a combination of great search tools (including smart voice recognition capabilities) and algorithmic recommendations, you’re easily able to find exactly what you want to watch at any time of day. Sky’s glass-like interface panes can be better at knowing what you’re into than you are, always capable of determining your tastes – and even what you’re more likely going to want to watch at different hours of the day. With detailed editorial descriptions of content, an easy-to-explore guide, side-by-side apps, sensibly laid out menu options and an intuitive recording library, Sky would be foolish to equip its TV with anything other than the Sky Q interface.

User profiles

One thing that Sky Q interface is missing though is user profiles. If you’re in a household of several family members, those aforementioned recommendations can get a bit muddled as multiple people feed data into Sky’s algorithm. A Sky Q smart TV would benefit from the option of individual user profiles, letting high-level users separate out recordings, favourite channels and recommendations between family members, while the casual user can just stick with a single global profile.

The complete 4K / HDR Dolby suite

One of Sky Q’s top selling points is its huge catalogue of 4K Ultra HD content. While Sky may want to keep costs low by putting together a mid-range smart TV set, I think it’d be doing its library of excellent films and TV shows a disservice to not put them out on a television with some top-drawer home cinema tech. Sky already offers up content in HDR with Dolby Atmos sound – I’d like to see the set step up to the plate with Dolby Vision support in tow too, a looking glass into the very best that cinema has to offer. If it pushes the price up, I think it’s still a smart idea – after all, you have to have a fair bit of disposable income to afford a Sky TV package in the first place. At the very least, I’d like to see a range of TVs offered up by Sky, with one model offering a top-tier checklist of cutting-edge TV technologies built in.

HDMI 2.1

If we’re talking about high-end TV features, here’s hoping the Sky Q smart TV offers HDMI 2.1 ports. These are increasingly vital to gamers with the latest PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, as they’re required to hit 120Hz refresh rates on a display with variable refresh rate tech activated, keeping gameplay buttery smooth. Oh, and don’t scrimp on the amount of HDMI ports either – four feels like the bare minimum these days.

Devialet speaker smarts

Though a Sky smart TV might be the first time the company has dabbled in television set tech, it’s previously partnered on Sky TV audio accessories to great effect with premium audio manufacturer Devialet. The Sky Soundbox was an impressive accompaniment to the company's set top boxes, and we’d love to see Sky partner with Devialet again here on the audio front for the smart TV. And if Sky’s already supporting Dolby Atmos in its TV library, let's get those speakers doing some virtualized overhead surround sound, too.

Live TV over-the-internet back up

Sky Q still has one achilles heel – its live TV is reliant on a consistent satellite signal that can be negatively affected by adverse weather and poor dish placement. However, for years the company has been working on offering the complete Sky Q service entirely over the internet, making for a more flexible (and in some cases, reliable) package. It’d be great if the Sky smart TV could offer a mixture of both satellite and over-the-internet delivery systems for its live broadcasts, with perhaps the broadband connection acting as built-in redundancy for any satellite issues that from time to time occur.

• Sky Q review: the very best TV service in Europe

A Sky Q subscription also nets you access to a host of different games to play on your TV, and now Beehive Bedlam is one of them.

If you need another time-filler, look no further. Sky has brought back the classic mini-game Beehive Bedlam, a fan-favorite puzzle game from the now-shuttered Sky Games service, which closed in January 2015.

Sky Q subscribers will be able to play Beehive Bedlam on their Sky Q or Sky Q Mini boxes, offering a handy way to pass the time between TV episodes, or just work on your puzzling skills throughout the day while stuck indoors.

Sky started adding games in its PlayWorks app back in May, and it’s certainly casual fare, but for the young’uns or bored among you, it’s totally worth dipping into.

Beehive yourselves

Beehive Bedlam is a spin on the classic Bubble Shooter formula, in which players aim bubbles – or, in this case, flowers – at a stack of colored icons, matching the color of the projectile to gradually clear the beehive and move onto the next level. It’s a winning formula, and one that’s been utilized in a host of mobile games or casual titles over the years, from Bobble Bust-A-Move to Peggle.

While Sky Games shuttered in 2015, a fan-made version of the game has been available for some time on iOS, Android, Fire TV, and PC.

A neat touch for Sky Q subscribers is the implementation of voice commands: saying “Start Beehive Bedlam” or even “Bee Bee Bee” will bring up the app for you. Other Sky Q games include the likes of Solitaire, Cross Road, and Tomb Runner.

As Sky is keen to point out to us, there was even a Change.org petition to bring the game back for new Sky devices, showing just how committed some fans are to the title.

• Sky TV packages: every possible option

Sky Q, Sky TV’s premium satellite-and-TV-on-demand package, is getting the biggest update it’s ever received since first launching back in 2016. From improved voice control to UI changes, interactive sports features and more, it’s a meaty addition to an already comprehensive service.

There’s a lot to get through, so we’ll start with one of the most-wanted features first. Following on from the recent introduction of HDR to Sky Q’s 4K box, this new update will mean that the Disney Plus streaming service also gets HDR visuals with this release. HDR will also be added to Netflix a few months later.

Next, up, sports. Sky Sports Recap is a new feature that will let you catch up on key moments while a live match is happening – be that a controversial decision, or a missed goal perhaps. You can manually pick a clip, or see a highlights reel playlist in a pane on the side of the screen, using picture in picture so that you don’t need to miss the live action. It’ll start with Premier League matches but will roll out to cricket, Formula 1 and NFL soon.

Fan feedback

Sky Sports Fanzone is another new feature being added to Sky Q packages. Available on mobile, laptop or tablet, it lets you invite up to five other friends to watch a match with them. It’s an interactive feature that lets you conduct polls that include match prediction votes, man of the match debates and more, with onscreen views of friends and families. 

What’s particularly cool is that it essentially lets you engage with Sky Sports’ TV production, turning watching a match into an interactive experience. For instance, Sky Sports Fanzone will also let fans pick a chant to fill the currently-empty stadium atmosphere – fed to Sky’s engineers based on what’s being picked by the Fanzone crowds. It’s kicking off as a football feature and will be brought to cricket and Formula 1 in time, too. General entertainment like movies could come further down the line as well.

‘Sport Centre’, a content hub for all sorts of sports coverage, will do better to surface YouTube, BT Sport and Red Bull content, as well as Sky Sports in the future. There will be more contextual and machine-learning recommendations in the Sports Centre, including documentaries, trending news clips and highlights, not just upcoming and live events.

UI tweaks

Onto the user interface. ‘Expanded View’ changes the initial home screen, hiding the left-side content options once you start browsing show information. It brings 60% more visibility to content on the main screen.

‘Show Centre’ is also new – essentially a landing page for an individual show that offers smart information on a series. A ‘Smart Button’ will let you resume a show in progress or kick it off, while below you’ll see all content available for that show, whether that’s on-demand content, live scheduled programming or ‘More Like This’ offerings from the catalogue.

Voice is also being improved, and is being paired with a new remote control that puts the voice activating button literally at it’s centre. It will let you get to content breakdowns you won’t get elsewhere. ‘Action movies starring Bruce Willis’ as a voice command, for example, will show Sky Q content as a collection that you can’t find through any text search option. Whether it's On Demand, Recordings or Sky Store content, it’ll pull it all together.

Sky Go will be developed to take more advantage of incoming Android and iOS features too. A new Sky Go release will come every month to app stores, bringing more consistent update and improvement schedules to the Sky Go experience. Additionally, building on the PlayWorks game introduction, more games are coming to Sky Q.

Sky Q by broadband in the UK remains a work in progress, however, despite being available in select European territories.

This new update is part of a larger plan to offer more frequent, smaller updates via the internet to Sky Q customers, rather than a few large updates via satellite. Smaller, more regular feature changes and UI tweaks will come to Sky going forward, at a rate as fast as one every two months or so.

Rolling out to customers from July 8, through August, all versions of the Sky Q and multiroom boxes will get the update. You don’t have to do anything to trigger the update, so keep an eye on your box for the changes in the coming weeks.

• How to upgrade your Sky Q box for HDR

Fans of the English Premier League won't just have the novelty of simulated crowd noises when the matches restart on Wednesday June 17 – Sky Sports has also announced a new feature that will let you video chat with friends during live games.

The new Fanzone feature, which will be available on the Sky Sports app and website, could be a useful new addition for fans who are socially distancing or simply want to enjoy the matches with far-flung friends.

According to Sky, the feature will only be available for "select matches" and there's no news yet on how many people will be able to live chat simultaneously.

But the main reason why it might be a better bet than using the likes of Zoom or Houseparty are the added match-related features. These will apparently include in-match polls and Sky Sports game stats, to help back up your expert observations and commentary.

• How to watch a Premier League live stream
• Get your live football fix
• PS5 improvements we want to see

The Fanzone video room will also let fans "influence the crowd noise they hear on screen", which presumably means it'll work in tandem with the "range of bespoke and team-specific crowd noises and chants" that Sky has already announced from its partnership with EA.

Filling the box

The new Fanzone feature and optional crowd noises won't be the only bonus extras coming to Sky Sports' Premier League coverage – the broadcaster has promised to "unveil further innovations to further enhance the experience for fans", along with its full schedule of live matches and channels.

The fixture list for the first 32 matches of the English Premier League has been announced, with 11 of the matches available free-to-air in the UK on the BBC, Amazon and Sky Sports via its Pick channel. The cheapest way to watch the rest of Sky Sports' games in the UK is with a Now TV Sky Sports Pass (£5.99 a month, mobile-only).

In the US, NBC Sports has the rights to every Premier League game – you get a Matchday Pass for $39.99, or if you want replays included to cover awkward kick-off times, then you'll need to shell out $64.99 for its Premier League Pass.

Australian Premier League fans can catch every game on Optus Sports – if you're not already signed up to the telecommunications network, you can catch the games via Google Play or the App Store with a AUS$15 per month monthly subscription.

Wherever you are, we'll let you know how you can watch every Premier League game when the rest of the fixtures are announced – but in the meantime check out our Premier League 19/20 live stream: how to watch every game online and from anywhere guide.

• Sky Sports and BT Sport reveal what the Premier League restart means for your bills

When the English Premier League kicks off again on Wednesday June 17, Sky viewers in the UK will have the option to watch matches with simulated crowd noises developed in partnership with EA Sports.

"A range of bespoke and team-specific crowd noises and chants" will be on offer "to bring the vibrant atmosphere of the Premier League to the restart" according to Sky, though we're assuming they're all going to be family friendly.

If you're not keen on the simulated cheers and boos – which we expect will sound a lot like they do on FIFA – then you can turn them off with your remote, but they might just add a little more atmosphere to the occasion.

• Get your live football fix
• PS5 improvements we want to see
• How to watch a Premier League live stream

"With live sport on hold for over two months, we've spent a lot of time thinking about how we broadcast in new ways to bring fans together, even if they can't meet up to watch the match," says  Sky Sports managing director Robert Webster.

Behind closed doors

With lockdown restrictions starting to be eased in most parts of the world, some sporting contests are now able to get back underway, with appropriate social distancing and other health and safety measures in place.

The German Bundesliga has been running since the middle of May, with games playing out in front of empty stadiums. Some broadcasters have started piping in recorded crowd noises on top of the feed, including Sky Deutschland.

According to ESPN, that fake audio was put together by Sky Deutschland itself, using recordings from earlier in the season. Engineers are able to adapt the crowd noise if there's action in either penalty area.

Presumably the UK version will run along similar lines, though Sky hasn't revealed much in the way of detail. The involvement of EA Sports suggests there will be some artificial crowd noises, but we'll have to wait until June 17 to hear what it sounds like.

• Sky Sports and BT Sport reveal what the Premier League restart means for your bills

Via The Verge

From Bad Boys and Lethal Weapon to Hot Fuzz, it's safe to say that the buddy cop genre has numerous options for film fans to consider - and now there's a new TV show to add to the discussion. Read on to find out how to watch Code 404 online from anywhere in the world, including for free wherever possible.

Code 404 stars Stephen Graham and Daniel Mays - no strangers to crime-related roles, having both appeared in the altogether more serious Line of Duty - this new 6-part show sees the pair work for the Special Investigation Unit at the London Met.

Mays' character, Detective Inspector John Major, is a celebrated Met Police special investigations. But he's (minor spoiler alert) killed off at the start of the first episode after being shot in an undercover sting operation.

The twist comes when he's brought back to life, thanks to some revolutionary technology. Sadly, some of the AI tech used in his resurrection was a little off, meaning it's a new but not necessarily improved DI Major that comes back to life.

To complicate matters, in the time that it has taken for him to be brought back into action, his partner Detective Inspector Roy Carver (Graham) and his wife Kelly (Anna Maxwell Martin) have started an affair and moved in together.

With a stellar cast and an interesting twist on the genre, it's a new show you won't want to miss. Find out how to watch Code 404 online from anywhere by following out guide below.

• Something completely different? Here's how to watch RuPaul's Drag Race 

How to watch Code 404 for free in the UK

How to watch Code 404 from outside your country

As Code 404 is a Sky One exclusive, anyone from the UK who's currently away from home won't find it being aired simultaneously in places like the USA, Canada or Australia. Moreover, trying to tune into Sky or a related service like Now TV will likely be impossible because of geo-blocking restrictions.

We know that this might not be a likely scenario for many, due to coronavirus travel restrictions, but the fact is people are still being required to travel - and some are even regrettably stuck abroad during this difficult time.

Fortunately, there is a solution in the form of a VPN. This nifty bit of software changes your IP address so that you can access all the content you normally would at home, from anywhere in the world.

However, note that some services require you to verify local credit card or cable subscription details before gaining access, so make sure you have these to hand before signing up for anything.

• How to watch The Last Dance online

Sky Sports claims that revolutionary new technology used during its coverage of The Open golf this week will reveal to viewers the secret to a perfect pro golf swing.

During broadcasts from the 148th Open Championship in Royal Portrush, Sky's pundits will be making use of its new ‘Sky Scope’ feature which allows presenters to analyse the techniques of star players using holograph replicas of each golfer.

Players such as Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and John Rahm have been visiting Sky’s mobile capture facility during practice session downtime to have special filming sessions. 

The footage is used to create lifelike holographs which are then transported to Sky’s Open Zone studio, allowing the Sky Sports team to analyse, track and pause the players movements in 360 degrees.

• Read more: How to get a 2019 Open live stream from anywhere in the world

Volumetric capture the flag

The new Sky Scope’ tech uses volumetric capture, similar to that used in high-end VR productions and has been developed as part of a partnership between Sky Sports, robotic camera control rig maker MRMC and VR production studio Dimension. 

Jason Wessely, Head of Golf at Sky Sports, said: "We're always looking at how we can use innovative technology to bring golf fans closer to the action - nowhere more so than at The Open, where we first introduced our interactive studio, the Open Zone.

"The technology that MRMC have provided will allow us to analyse the golf swings of the world's best players in a way that hasn't been possible before. I know that the Sky team can't wait to showcase this ground-breaking TV innovation."

• See today's best Sky TV deals, packages and Sky Q offers

Now TV has been a revelation for Sky. Its arrival in 2012 meant a whole host of programmes that used to be strictly tethered to a satellite dish could be enjoyed without a contract. Now anyone can now enjoy Sky, as long as you have a broadband connection that can stream movies and TV shows.

The box is cheap – really cheap. You can get one for under around £20 and it comes with a (limited) free subscription to either the service's movies, sports or TV offerings.

Sky now has two box options for Now TV. There's this Now TV box to entice you to take up its non-contract shenanigans. Or the new Now TV Smart Box that marries both non-contract streaming and Freeview channels.

• Best cheap Now TV deals: on boxes and shows, movies and sports

We're here to tell you about the best Now TV shows available if you buy the monthly Entertainment Pass. Unlike Netflix or Amazon Prime Instant Video, Sky's shows tend to disappear a little quicker due to rights issues, but don't fear – we will keep this list of the best Now TV shows constantly updated so you always know what's available when you buy your monthly pass.

And if you don't fancy anything, don't forget to regularly check back as new content becomes available through the service.

Check out the rivals...

Best Amazon Prime Instant TV Shows: 50 to choose from
Best Netflix TV Shows: 50 of the best

Donald Glover wrote, starred and produced this superb show about the music scene in Atlanta. The first seasons charts the rise of two cousins as hip hop artists, trying make something of themselves. The show is what you should expect from Glover. It’s smart, funny and a fitting looks at being black and middle class in America. Unfortunately season 2 is going to be delayed as Glover is set to play a young Lando in the upcoming Han Solo movie. As excuses go, that’s one of the best we have heard. 

Seasons on Now TV: 1

The Affair is not what it seems. At all. It starts off as a half-decent melodrama following writer Noah (Dominic West) and his family as they go on vacation to Montauk in Long Island. There Noah falls for local waitress Alison Lockhart (Ruth Wilson). She's married, he's married and, well, things spiral out of control. The reason The Affair is compelling viewing is because it holds a mirror up to the affair in question. We get differing points of view, from both Noah and Alison. The same scenes play out but clothes change, dialogue changes, even settings change as they remember their sides of same the convoluted story. The first season is essential viewing but the conceit is stretched somewhat for the second and third season - it's still great fun, though.

Seasons on Now TV: 3

It's not often that you root for a billionaire hedge fund manager, but Damian Lewis' likeable performance in Billions means you get behind the rich guy - even if his methods of making money may be on the dubious side. Lewis is Bobby Axelrod a hedge fund manager that is being pursued by Paul Giamatti's Chuck Rhoades for insider trading. The whole things is an effortless watch and endlessly entertaining.

Seasons on Now TV: 2

James Spader. That name should be enough to get you watching The Blacklist. The actor – who lent his voice to Avengers: Age of Ultron – is fantastic in this show. Only an actor of his calibre could portray playfulness in a character who at his heart is a cold, sadistic megalomaniac. The premise is simple: Red (Spader), one of the FBI's Most Wanted, hands himself in with the caveat that he has information on hundreds of other criminals – information he uses to twist the FBI around his malicious little finger. While the supporting cast isn't quite up to Spader's magnificence, this is one of the more enjoyable shows on Sky at the moment.

Seasons on Now TV: 3

Blindspot has one of the best premises we’ve ever heard of from a TV show: a heavily tattooed, naked woman is found in Times Square, New York, with no recollection of who she is or how she got there. It sounds so mysteriously tantalising, right? What ensues is a crime drama all about the twists and turns the FBI go on that are inspired by the intricate maps of ink on Jane Doe’s skin. It may not be award-winning, but has plenty of fans. 

Seasons on Now TV: 3

Britannia is splitting audiences, but if you can’t hold for the new series of Game of Thrones, Britannia may fill that fantasy-shaped hole in your viewing calendar.

It’s Thrones made by Brits, essentially, and though it claims to have its roots in historical accuracy (it follows the Roman invasion and occupation of Britain during the Iron Age), it is very much from the George R. R. Martin school of storytelling. Expect buckets of blood, lots of sexy human flesh and a fair amount of never-would-have-actually-happened fantasy magic nonsense thrown in too.

Julia Davis is fantastic at creating uncomfortable comedy and that's exactly what she has done with Camping - a show centred on a group of people who go camping together. Davis is sublime as lady Fay, a sex-mad girlfriend of one of the group who is going through something of a midlife crisis. But it's Vicki Pepperdine's Fiona who wins the show. Her portrayal of a moaning, mean and controlling wife is one of the scariest things seen on TV.

Series on Now TV: 1 

Criminal Minds has been going strong for 13 seasons, all of which you can stream on Now TV. It’s a US police crime drama. We know what you’re thinking. There are loads of them, right? Well, Criminal Minds is a little different because it’s driven by a team who catch criminals based on high-paced, smart and really damn fascinating behavioural profiling. If you like your dramas laced with more intelligence than action, this is for you. The great thing about Criminal Minds is you can dip in and out of the seasons and still find it really entertaining. Sure you might be a little confused by the ongoing plots and character development, but most episodes have self-contained mysteries. 

Seasons on Now TV: 13

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is well and truly cashing in on our ongoing superhero obsession. The series is based on some of DC’s most interesting characters beyond the obvious choices, like Batman and The Joker. The line-up includes DC heroes like Atom, Firestorm, Captain Cold and Hawkgirl. If you’re a fan of The Flash and Arrow, it’s definitely worth giving this show a spin because they’re all set in the same fictional universe. 

Seasons on Now TV: 3

Swearier than Delia Smith at a Norwich game, Deadwood is a show that may have been short-lived but it will linger a long time in the memory. From the golden age of HBO programming, Deadwood stars a never-bettered Ian McShane as saloon owner Al Swearengen - even his name is sweary - and Timothy Olyphant as the sheriff of Deadwood Seth Bullock. Over three seasons, and set some six months after Custer's last stand, life (and death) in Deadwood is laid bare.

Seasons on Now TV: 3

There's jump scares aplenty in this adaptation of the 'true story' of a house in London in the Seventies that was subject of a vicious haunting. The cast is pitch perfect, with Timothy Spall as the sympathetic paranormal inspector and newcomer Eleanor Worthington-Cox as one of the children affected by the poltergeist. While the show doesn't scrimp on accusations that the hauntings were faked by the children, it does hit hard with its scares - think Paranormal Activity by way of EastEnders.

Seasons on Now TV: 1

The Flash is the best superhero show on television. Yes, that includes all of the Marvel entities. It’s the best as it’s the truest to the comic books, has a fantastic Flash in the form of Grant Gustin and scripts that add real pathos to all of the characters - even when they are fighting giant gorillas. 

Season one sets the story arcs up well, while season two intricately plots the events leading up to season 3, which starts with the famous comic-book series Flashpoint.

Seasons on Now TV: 2

The most expensive Sky show in history is also one of its most divisive. Many love the slow, snow-strewn plot that keeps you guessing right till the end but others were expecting something a bit more action packed - given much of the pre hype was all about polar bears versus humans. Take it as what it is meant to be, though - a crime drama in the Scandinavian mould, sprinkled with supernatural elements - and there is a lot to love. And anything with Michael Gambon as an angry drunk man will get our attention.

All 10 episodes of Season 2 are also available on demand.

Seasons on Now TV: 2

The first season of Gomorrah - based on the fantastic true expose of the Sicilian Camorra crime empire by Roberto Saviano - was a brilliant, brutal look at what it means to be a gangster in Sicily. It showed a world that was far away from Godfather romanticism but never really proved a hit to audiences. The second season of the show has changed this, with Gomorrah picking up acclaim from anyone who's seen it.It's a show that's just as epic in scope as The Wire and we can't wait to see where further seasons take it.

Seasons on Now TV: 2

Grey’s Anatomy, the super popular US medical drama series that never seems to end, follows the lives of residents, interns and attending physicians as they work their way up the ranks to become fully-fledged doctors. Although the series is named after Gray’s Anatomy, a classic human anatomy textbook, the show explores bigger themes than just medicine, as well as delving into the personal lives and relationships of the characters. That’s probably one of the reasons why it’s won so many awards over the years, has such a dedicated army of fans and is one of the longest running scripted shows on primetime US TV. 

Seasons on Now TV: 14

With a cast that stars Frieda Pinto and Idris Elba and a writer who's an Oscar winner thanks to 12 Years A Slave, you would have expected Guerrilla to be talked about more. But it seems to have gone under the radar. This is a shame, as the show about the rise of black power in the UK in the '70s is a great watch.

There's been a glut of cult movies made into TV shows (Fargo and Psycho are also now TV favourites), but Hannibal is the best there is. The most surreal show since Twin Peaks, Hannibal weaves the mythos of Hannibal Lector effortlessly with dream-like imagery and superb acting. While Hugh Dancy's Will Graham is a little one note, Mads Mikkelsen as Lector makes the character his own, complementing Anthony Hopkins' portrayal rather than making you pine for it. The third and unfortunately final season delves both into Hannibal's younger years and the exploits of the book Red Dragon – so there's no better time to catch this superb series.

Seasons on Now TV: 1 (season 3)

The Leftovers is bleak. Like really bleak. It begins a little after a Rapture-like event, where a number of people in the world have simply vanished and focuses on the lives of those, well, leftover. Adapted for the screen by Lost's Damon Lindelof, The Leftovers may have a similar Lost-like ensemble approach to its storytelling but that's where the similarities end. The Leftovers is much more real and while this takes time to getting used to it's more than worth it.

Also, the second series is one of the best series of television we have ever seen, so there is that. Catch up now before the third and final series disappears from Now TV.

Seasons on Now TV: 3

Modern Family has been consistently hilarious for six seasons now, using The Simpsons' method of showing good ol' family values through, well, good ol' family dysfunction. Every episode hits the spot. The writing is Emmy award-winning and the acting too, even if the central idea that the Dunphy/Pritchett family is being filmed for a documentary wears a little thin after a while. This is one of Sky's biggest shows and for good reason, too.

Seasons on Now TV: 8

Chris O'Dowd has never been better than in this fantastic sitcom, loosely based on his life in Ireland. He stars as Sean, the imaginary friend of Martin Moone, a kid growing up in the '80s. Filled with some fantastic comedy – mainly from Ian O'Reilly who plays Padraic in the show – and more heart and pathos than you would normally find in a 30-minute sitcom, Moone Boy is as good a coming-of-age tale as you will find anywhere.

Seasons on Now TV: 3

The last time famous characters from Victorian gothic literature got together on the screen it was for the laughable adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Even the genius words of Alan Moore couldn't make that work. So, when Bond scribe John Logan announced he was doing a similar thing with Penny Dreadful, we were sceptical. But it really works. Everyone from Frankenstein's monster – who is finally as poetic as he is in the novel – to Dorian Gray have been given a revisionist spin that makes this series both scary and entertaining.

Seasons on Now TV: 3

If you’ve got just a passing interest in art, then Portrait Artist of the Year is guaranteed to hook you in. Each episode sees a number of professional and amateur artists take on a portrait challenge. The race is then on for them to create the best portrait, so you’ll get a great insight into their process, how they work and how well (or not so well) they cope with painting under pressure. The show would stand up if that was all there was to it, but what makes it even more interesting is that each person sitting for their portrait is someone famous or notable, so you get to hear more about them and their story in amongst all the paint talk. It’s like reality TV for those who prefer a quiet wander round Tate Britain as opposed to a mad one in an Essex nightclub. 

Seasons on Now TV: 4 

Rick and Morty creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon have created a hit TV show out of a concept that on paper probably shouldn’t work: darkly funny, animated, adult science-fiction. The story follows cynical and anarchic scientist Rick Sanchez as he goes on a series of out-of-this-world (in every sense of the phrase) adventures with his grandson Morty. It’s gross, laugh out loud funny and a refreshing take on sci-fi world building that’s drummed up a huge deal of interest and army of fans over the past few years. 

Seasons on Now TV: 1

The first long trailer was ridiculed for looking like a rom com, but Supergirl has proved its critics wrong and over the course of two seasons has show itself to be one of the best superhero shows on television. Melissa Benoist is fantastic as Kara Zor-El, playing her just on the right side of innocent, while the inclusion of a certain other superhero in season 2 could have been a bad idea but it has really made Supergirl, well, fly.

Seasons on Now TV: 1

We are now into the third series of The Trip and it shows no signs of wear and tear - it's still as funny and effective as it was when they originally went around the UK eating good food. Mostly ad-libbed and full of meta musings, The Trip is essentially a showcase of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's talents and thanks to the astute direction of Michael Winterbottom, it's a brilliant watch.

True Detective is a series that will frustrate. The first season is superb; a sweaty American backwoods whodunnit that flits between present day and the past. In both timezones the leads - Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson - are mesmerising and even if the poetic ending doesn't match the quality of the rest of the season, it still rounds off a marvellous watch. Then there's the second season. Plodding, aimless, pretentious, but still annoyingly watchable.

Seasons on Now TV: 2

Twin Peaks is the greatest, strangest season of TV spread over two seasons. The show is both beautiful and grotesque, simple and convoluted. The premise is simple: some FBI agents come to the sleepy town of Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of Laura Palmer but the way the tale is told through both dreamscapes and fairly ordinary soap opera musings makes it unmissable. Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, the series was eventually hamstrung by annoying TV execs forcing the murderer to be revealed mid way through the second season, but this doesn't detract from the complete brilliance of a show that was way ahead of its time.

And, just as promised, 25 years later we have Season 3 of the show. Almost stripped of the playfulness of the first two seasons, this third slap of Twin Peaks is much darker and even more convoluted - think Fire Walk With Me. It's also brilliant and brings back a number of the original cast.

Seasons on Now TV: 3

US politics isn't really that funny at the moment, given the current incumbent of the President's chair. So, thank the world for Veep - an hilarious look at US politics and a bumbling vice president. It's The Thick Of It, US style. While there's no Malcolm Tucker to add the swears, every character has a potty mouth and a quick quip and six series in it's just as good as ever.

Seasons on Now TV: 5

The Walking Dead has long been one of the most popular and addictive shows to sink your teeth into. But if you’re a fan and want to rewatch all 8 seasons, or you’re keen to catch up after avoiding the scary, apocalyptic drama for so long, then you’d better act fast. All 8 seasons of the award-winning zombie show are available on NOW TV, and consistently top the service’s Most Popular list, but will only be available to stream until 27 March 2018.

Seasons on Now TV: 8

The Wire requires patience, an eye for detail and a half-decent knowledge of Baltimore street slang. While you may not have the last thing down pat, it will help understanding the nuances in what is one of the greatest series in television. Each season stands alone, offering up a slice of Baltimore. Over five seasons these slices overlap and coincide, bringing characters together from all walks of American life. You have drug dealers who are well educated, drug users whose morals are stronger than the upper echelons of the police department. There's corrupt politicians, teachers who are trying to turn around failing schools, despite everything conspiring against them, and journalists trying to make sense of what is going, by making their own stories up along the way. It's big, brave storytelling that's Dickensian in its scope and it's utterly fantastic.

Seasons on Now TV: 5

Despite being a sub-brand of premium TV broadcaster Sky, you always have to remember that Now TV is meant as a budget option. 

Can't afford a full-blown Sky Q subscription? Then Now TV is your cheap ticket to streaming all of Sky's biggest pieces of content without having to go to the same level of expense or commitment. 

To that end, Now TV's hardware has always followed a similar blueprint, and the Now TV Stick is no different. We got to experience the new hardware firsthand and we came away thinking that it was a decent budget stick, if a little light on the non-Now TV functionality. 

But, with a price of just £15 for the base hardware, we're not sure we can complain too much. 

Design

Like the Now TV box before it, the Now TV Stick is based on hardware originally produced by Roku. 

In this case, the Roku equivalent is (loosely) the Roku Streaming Stick+, a device that came out late last year full to the gills with 4K HDR goodness. 

The Now TV Stick, in comparison, is a little lighter on the high-end tech. For now it's an HD Ready only affair, although it should be able to make use of Now TV's upgrade to Full HD that's due to happen before the end of the year. 

That said, whether the hardware is 4K compatible or not is a somewhat academic question since the Now TV Stick doesn't allow access to any streaming services that support 4K content. 

It shouldn't surprise us that Netflix and Amazon Prime continue to be absent from the Now TV Stick. The two most popular streaming services have never seen eye to eye with Sky – they've been absent from every Now TV box in the past – and they're also absent from Sky Q. 

You do get access to most other major streaming services. The BBC's iPlayer is of course included, as are the rest of the UK's catch up streaming services. 50 apps are supported in total. 

Aside from the app selection, the other big difference between the Now TV Stick and the Roku Streaming Stick+ is the remote. While the Roku's offers dedicated access to apps like Netflix, their absence means that the Now TV Stick's remote has a series of buttons dedicated to Sky's own content areas including Sky Kids and the Sky Store. 

Oh, and the micro USB power port is on the end of the stick this time around rather than the side, just in case clearance behind your TV is an issue. 

Performance

Roku's interfaces have always been on the snappy side, and that's continued into the Now TV Stick, despite Now TV having added its own skin atop of the stock Roku experience. 

A brief demonstration saw us nip through a highlights section (formed of Sky content from Now TV passes that you currently subscribe to, and other streaming services) through to a 'Continue Watching' section which is exclusively content that you've already begun watching so you can easily pick up where you left off. 

Dig deeper than here and the whole interface is broadly subdivided by Now TV passes. There are now four in total, Cinema, Entertainment, Sports and Kids, and each offer a broad range of content covering those areas. 

The exception to this is a new TV Guide area that groups together all of the live channels you're currently subscribed to (this guide also gets a dedicated button on the remote), which can now be paused and rewound thanks to a nifty new piece of Now TV technology. 

Of course, if you don't want to navigate using the remote you can always use the new voice search to find content. We were shown how the search could be used to find shows and films by title, by cast, and even by director. 

We were even impressed to see our demonstrator fudge a request for the Now TV Stick to show content by Steve Coogan. Rather than asking for shows starring the veteran comedian (no doubt in an attempt to promote recent Sky hit 'The Trip'), he asked for shows directed by him, and the Stick obliged with quiet assurance.

Voice search also has uses outside of Now TV's content, but these are unfortunately much less limited. You can ask the Stick to open up the iPlayer, for example, but it currently can't search within the app to find you the latest episode of Eastenders. 

Early Verdict

Although there are other apps included, the Now TV Stick has a very singular purpose: it wants to make it cheap and easy for you to spend money on Sky's streaming services. 

So far, what we've seen of the Stick implies that it will do a very effective job. The interface is well laid out and snappy, buttons on the remote make getting to the different bits of Sky's content a doddle, and the voice search seems to be a quick and easy way of finding your way around the interface. 

But the elephant in the room is always the Roku hardware that the Now TV variant is based on. Yes you'll pay more (four times more at the time of writing),  but opting for Roku's Streaming Stick+ will net you all of what the Now TV Stick offers along with support for both Netflix and Amazon in 4K HDR. 

If you want the cheapest functional streaming stick money can buy, then keep an eye out for the Now TV Stick. Just know that you can get more if you're prepared to pay more. 

• Now TV also produce a Freeview HD-equipped set-top box called the Now TV Smart Box

If its recent price cut wasn't enough to tempt you, Sky is announcing new ways to view its sports coverage on its top-of-the-line Sky Q service.

It today announced the addition of a split-screen view option for its Sky Sports channels, letting you run two live football or tennis matches side by side, view a highlights reel along with real-time action, or else pick between multiple camera angles during Formula One races.

This is provided in addition to the Sky Sports HQ app, which is already available as a slide-in pane through the Sky UI, which is now available in split screen view alongside any other channel.

The power of Q

"We know our customers absolutely love watching live sports and the new Sky Q features will give them the flexibility to choose how they watch," said Luke Bradley-Jones, Sky's Brand Director of TV and Content Products.

"Whether it's a Premier League match or Formula 1 race, customers can simply choose split screen viewing and watch the most talked about goal again and again, or two live races side by side."

There are some limitations - you can't mix and match sports on the rare occasions when two major events clash, and highlights reels are editorially chosen from the current event being viewed, rather than letting you trawl through highlights from other matches or races. But it's a good showcase for the power of the Sky Q box, and will come into its own particularly for football fans, watching end-of-the-season relegation battles or title races.

• Sky Q review

Sky is doubling down on its Sky Q box, announcing a new pricing structure to lure over both old and new customers and a simpler naming system.

Sources at the company have suggested there's internal delight over the sales of and reaction to Q. That's despite some clear stability issues with the box, and the failure to so far roll out key features announced at launch, like the power line connectivity (ETA 2016) and the phone app (ETA the next few weeks).

The upshot is that Sky is now keen to make the Q box its primary offering, ahead of the trusted old Sky+ boxes that have served as a bedrock to the company's growth in recent years, and which will continue to be offered.

Same box, new name

Originally Sky Q subscribers were given the basic option or the Silver option – the latter boasting a 2TB drive and 4K functionality. These have now been renamed to simply the Sky Q 1TB box and the Sky Q 2TB, which is much less interesting but probably easier to understand.

For new customers, The Sky Q 1TB will be included for no extra cost with all TV bundles including the £20 'original' bottom tier, but a one-off installation fee of £15 will be charged, or £60 for the 2TB box.

For current subscribers, the same installation fees apply if you want to upgrade, and you can take advantage of a new Sky Q Multiscreen offering for £12 a month more (or nothing extra if you're a Sky+ multiscreen subscriber).

Our advice for current subscribers, as ever, is to take your time and look carefully at the options available to you, and what you want from your package. The 2TB box is certainly worth considering if you have, or plan to buy, a 4K television for instance.

In truth, as our Sky Q review points out, it's a lovely future-thinking box that's likely to get better and better in the coming months.

• Sky Q tips and tricks

European television giant Sky has invested $45 million in iflix, an Asian competitor to the streaming services like Amazon Prime Instant Video and market giant Netflix.

Sky has long identified Netflix as a disruptor to its business, and the company's investment in a burgeoning service that offers a huge package of shows and films to the Asian markets is an interesting one.

The service currently runs across Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines and, since its launch in May 2015 has already signed up over one million members.

Growing plans

The streaming company has already outlined its plans to move into more Asian markets, although Netflix's decision to broaden its own reach across the globe will inevitably put pressure on growth.

Sky already has its own streaming service called Now TV, and the company's latest offering in the set top box market - the Sky Q - is built to operate and compete in a modern streaming landscape.

iflix has quickly established itself as Southeast Asia's most exciting and fastest-growing streaming TV service, said Sky CFO Andrew Griffith.

"There are lots of opportunities for Sky and iflix to work together and share expertise as both companies continue to expand."

iflix co-founder and Group CEO, Mark Britt added: "We are thrilled to welcome Sky to the iflix family. As pioneers in the global broadcasting industry and true leaders in television and media, they share our passion for delivering market-leading content and services through innovation.

"Sky's investment will further support our commitment to providing our members with the best in entertainment."

• Read the Sky Q review

You may have noticed by now that we're a little obsessed with all things Star Wars at techradar towers, so when Sky offered us the first glimpse of its new Star Wars themed remotes we jumped at the chance faster than a stormtrooper onto a Rebel blockade runner.

The new range of remotes for the Sky+ box have been unveiled to celebrate the return of all six Star Wars movies to their own channel - Sky Movies Star Wars - which will also be playing host to a live broadcast from the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

There are 10 versions of the remote control to choose from - and although we were quick to judge the Christmas themed Now TV boxes, we're definitely okay with the various designs on display.

Our favourites are, obviously, the remotes that are designed to look a bit like the characters they represent - iconic versions of C-3PO, Darth Vader, the stormtrooper and the amazing R2-D2 remote.

But there are also six art design versions for the likes of Yoda, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, and second versions for Vader and the stormtrooper to (jack)boot.

So, take a look through the new designs and tell us which one you favour: but bear in mind we're going to be keeping the R2-D2 one, so hands off you Jawas...

And if you're in the US or Australia - we're sorry... Maybe someone else will do their own versions.

Sky Movies Star Wars will be available on channel 304 starting December 11 until January 3, and also available to watch via Sky Go.

R2-D2

Yoda

C-3PO

Stormtroopers

Darth Vader

Han Solo

Princess Leia

Luke Skywalker

UK broadcaster BskyB is investing a further $400,000 into Californian company Jaunt, an immersive video startup that specialises in cinematic virtual reality.

Sky pumped $350,000 of investment money into the startup last year, but has more than doubled that with the latest round - clearly it sees a bright future in VR entertainment.

Jaunt's tech offers immersive worlds of 360 degree 3D video and audio, creating some potentially awesome uses for virtual reality in TV and movies down the line.

However, BSkyB told TechRadar that it currently has "no plans" for anything in particular right now, and that it's merely looking into the possibilities that the technology can offer.

Field of view

"These investments provide Sky with additional insight into developments within the field," said BSkyB in a statement. A VR version of Ross Kemp on Gangs is currently TBC, but we live in hope.

The rise of VR devices like Oculus Rift and Sony's Project Morpheus have attracted a lot of interest in virtual reality, some of which will lead to experiences well beyond gaming, as Jaunt and Sky's relationship is testament to.

Samsung is also believed to be readying a headset called the Gear VR that will work with smartphones, the interface for which leaked out last week.

• 5 incredible ways virtual reality will go beyond gaming

Via Digital TV Europe

Sky has snagged a new far-reaching deal with Warner Bros that will see its films hit Sky Movies and Now TV well before they reach other on-demand services.

Sky Movies will be able to show Warner Bros films around six months after they finish their cinema runs, with exclusivity to Sky's services remaining in place for over a year after that.

As well as on the actual television and through Now TV, the movies will be available on-demand through the Sky Go tablet and smartphone apps and on a pay-per-view basis through Sky Store and Sky Movies Box Office.

Old sport

The deal includes new films, including from current titles (The Dark Knight Rises) to future blockbusters like period 3D extravaganza The Great Gatsby. Older 'classic' titles will also be available (step up, The Matrix, LOTR and Lethal Weapon) on demand.

The new deal will be a bit of a blow to Netflix and Lovefilm, neither of which will be able to offer new Warner Bros titles for over a year and a half after they leave the cinema.

It's all part of the on-going video-streaming land-grab which sees the three major players fighting for content deals; Netflix first maintained it wasn't too bothered about new releases, but it has recently changed its tune.

Amazon-owned Lovefilm, meanwhile, has several deals in place with studios and distributors like Miramax, Fox, NBC Universal and Sony Pictures, some exclusive and some not-so.

We've said it before and we'll say it again: the movie fan is the only loser in this brave new on-demand exclusive-deal-laden world.

While readying your box for Catch Up TV, Sky has added a handy and much longed-for feature to its Sky+ HD TV guide: undelete.

If you "accidentally" record Neighbours on series link and then have to "delete" it when your friends come over for movie night, you can now whip into the new Deleted tab on your box and undelete all the Aussie drama.

That's right, you'll never again have to wonder just what Paul Robinson did to annoy Susie K so much (probably some form of professional sabotage though, to be fair).

The perfect blend

A few other changes are en route to Sky+ as well; Anytime+ is being rebranded to On Demand in preparation for the soon-to-launch Catch Up TV (another way to revisit Ramsay Street).

It may not be the biggest news of the day, but the Documentaries tab is also being moved forward to appear between Entertain and Lifestyle, the new Store tab features rentable films and the help menus have been rejigged too.

The small-but-perfectly-formed updates are being rolled out in phases, as usual – the first updates will hit the latest Sky+ HD (DRX890) and the Sky+ HD 1TB box automatically during the night.

Sky has announced that its PAYG video-on-demand service Now TV has come to the Xbox 360.

Launched last month, Now TV is Sky's way of offering its content without tying users down to a contract.

Already available on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, YouView and select Android phones, it now follows the company's Sky TV offering to the Xbox – and comes with the added bonus of a 30-day free trial.

According to Sky, the Xbox version of Now TV will include 720i resolution and access to all 11 Sky Movies live channels.

The former is perhaps the most important addition, with the Xbox version getting HD - something that YouView boxes will definitely not get.

The time is Now

There are two ways to access Now TV content: pay £15 after the 30-day free trial and you'll get access to all the movies. Or you can opt to go pay as you go, where movies cost between 99p and £3.49.

It's not just movies, either, you Sky Sports content will be available through the app before the year is out and selected content from the likes of Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts and Sky Living will follow suit.

If you are a PS3 user then don't panic – according to Sky an app is coming, and there's one on the horizon for Roku users too.

The UK's new on-demand television platform YouView has received a timely influx of new movies thanks to the arrival of new Sky's Now TV service.

The £15 a month service brings unlimited viewings of over 600 films from the Sky Movies catalogue. There's a free 30-day trial available to new customers.

Beyond the monthly Sky Movies Pass, you can buy movies on a pay-and-play basis from 99p.

"If you love films you'll love the great range of pay movies available from Now TV on YouView," said the description on the YouView homepage.

"Enjoy Sky Movies one at a time with Pay & Play or get unlimited access with a monthly Sky Movies Pass. Already got YouView? Find Now TV in on demand today and sign up for a free 30 day Sky Movies pass."

Sky Sports on the way too

If you're an existing Now TV subscriber, naturally you'll be able to access that subscription through YouView.

While the movies will offer a huge boost to the fledgling platform, the real boon will come when Now TV gets Sky Sports content.

Will the arrival of Sky Movies content help convince you to sign up for YouView? Let us know in the comments section below.

Via: Pocket-Lint

James Bond is getting his own channel on Sky, with the broadcaster announcing that all 22 Bond films will be given dedicated space on its EPG.

What with his Olympic stint with the Queen and a new movie, Skyfall, out in November, 2012 is a busy year for James Bond – something Sky is set to capitalise on with the fact it will be showing all 22 Bond films from October in HD for the first time without pesky ad breaks.

It was announced back in April that Sky was to screen the entire James Bond collection in HD, including the upcoming Skyfall, but it was thought these movies would be seeded on to Sky's myriad movie channels rather than getting their own channel, aptly named Sky Movies 007 HD.

Bond ambition

Given the importance of bagging Bond in HD for Sky, it's set to showcase the franchise in the best way possible – something that Ian Lewis, director of Sky Movies, is very excited about.

"The Bond movies are a very special franchise and we want to ensure that our customers will be able to experience it in a way they've never been able to before, and so we're going to create a dedicated channel Sky Movies 007 HD devoted entirely to James Bond showing the entire catalogue of films and loads of extra material," explained Lewis about the news.

"We're delighted that our customers will have the best Bond movie-watching experience ever with Sky Movies – uninterrupted, in HD, on demand and on the go."

Alongside the Sky broadcasts, a Blu-ray boxset of all the movies to date is on its way, hitting shop shelves on September 24.

It will be interesting to see how much of an impact Sky's announcement will have on sales of the boxset.

Although home cinema enthusiasts will probably wait for the Blu-ray and all the AV goodness that comes with it (including 1080p and DTS HD-MA audio quality), Sky offering up a channel is definitely a shrewd move.

The Sky Movies 007 HD release date is 5 October, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Dr No and the whole collection will also be available via Sky Go.

The Competition Commission has ruled that Sky doesn't have an unfair stranglehold over films broadcast on pay-TV in the UK.

The ruling focused on the amount of choice available to the UK's cinephiles ruling that because there are now subscription service like Lovefilm and Netflix offering movie streaming, there's no problem.

The Commission has been looking into Sky's filmic activity for over a year as concerns that Sky's dominance in pay-TV movies was uncompetitive due to its vice-like grip on deals with six major film studios.

No fair

Other pay-TV providers complained that Sky's long-standing deals with movie studios meant that no one else could offer the latest blockbusters, giving it an unfair advantage.

But the Commission now believes that consumers are more bothered about having a wide range of film choices rather than the latest releases (which should be welcome news to Netflix).

Back in May 2012, it conceded that the problem is not such a big deal now that film streaming has taken off and today confirms that it won't be taking any action against Sky.

Laura Castensen, chairman of the inquiry, said, "It is clear that consumers now have a much greater choice than they had a couple of years ago when our investigation began.

"Lovefilm and Netflix are proving attractive to many consumers, which reinforces our view that consumers care about range and price as well as having access to the recent content of major studios."

From PA

Now TV has arrived in the Apple App store, with the subscription-free service now available to people with iPads and iPhones via 3G and WiFi.

Now TV was launched earlier in the month, and has now taken a bow on Apple devices after going through the normal approval process.

Now TV is the non-subscription option for those who want Sky's content, and it launches with just movies with entertainment and sport to follow at a later date.

Pass, play and pay

Customers can sign up for a month's all you can eat service for £15 with Sky Movies Pass or they can opt for a pay and play movie priced between 99p and £3.49.

"Building on the increasing popularity of watching TV over the internet, NOW TV offers access to Sky Movies – the UK's most popular subscription movies service – in a new way, explains Sky.

"It is easy, flexible and great value – with no contract, set-up costs or installation."

There is a 30 day trial available for free which will give people a way to trial the service and see if the Sky Movies Pass lives up to their expectations.

The obvious rivals to Now TV are Lovefilm and Netflix, and the high pricing of the monthly pass may be a major obstacle to begin with.

However, when Sky begins to offer sports and entertainment as part of a package, the service could well find its feet, and the broadcaster also has the advantage in terms of the latest blockbusters due to its longstanding relationship with the movie studios.

As is customary when a Sky app lands on iOS, TechRadar asked for any update on Android versions and the company told us: "No further updates on Android as yet, but we are continuing to add more devices."

Director of Now TV Simon Creasey has told TechRadar that YouView represents a key part of the company's plans to get its content onto our main televisions, but that talks are ongoing with a whole host of other platforms.

Sky's Now TV launches on July 16, and talking to TechRadar at the launch of the service, Creasey explained the importance of being available in people's living rooms – with the likes of games consoles and YouView central to that.

"What we do know is that we are talking to a new fresh audience and it's important to get onto the main TV," said Creasey.

"These millions of non-pay TV homes still want to watch on their main television in their lounge.

"So it's great to be on plenty of devices but ultimately we want to be on the main TV and there are lots of options to get on there whether it's Xbox, PS3, Roku streaming player and other devices that come along.

"But YouView is important, YouView is launching and has the potential to be a major platform and, if it is, then we want to be on there."

Google TV

TechRadar asked Creasey if Google TV figured amongst the platforms that were in talks with Sky over Now TV.

"Absolutely we want to be on the as many devices as we can," added Creasey. "We've had to prioritise because you have to start somewhere and what we have chosen is what we think are the most popular connected devices that we have a great experience of developing for.

"We will look at all platforms over time and work out where the demand is and what the right fit is in terms of putting Now TV on those devices.

"I think we'll be coming back in weeks or months and talking about the next wave of devices, but we are not yet in a position to say what yet."

Now TV director Simon Creasey expects to see the cream of Sky's entertainment content on the non-subscription platform, and suggested that key sports like Premier League football will be offered up in a 'different way'.

Sky's Now TV may be all about movies for now, but the prospect of sport and entertainment may well be the key factor in its success.

The prospect of pay-per-match football, test match cricket and the wealth of premium entertainment content currently being shown on Sky Atlantic, Sky One and Sky Arts is likely to appeal to the mass market.

Different way

Speaking to TechRadar at the launch, Creasey would not be drawn on the specifics beyond the announcement that sport will be available by the end of the year and entertainment in 2013.

"So we're not in a place to say when exactly when we launch or what the price or packaging will be," said Creasey.

"We will be bringing sports in a different way to how you would get it on Sky's platform we will be keeping it true to Now TV's principles of flexibility no contract and instant."

When asked directly about pay-per-match football, Creasey remained coy.

"We're not at the point now where we can confirm exactly what the package and pricing will be, but the principles are there in terms of the exact way we will package it together," he said.

Atlantic theatre

Entertainment content will be another draw, with Sky Atlantic perhaps the most critically lauded channel on digital television currently, and exclusive to the Sky subscriber platform.

Creasey told us that the premium entertainment content should indeed be available next year to non-subscribers.

"We're looking across the whole range of Sky entertainment and what we can bring in terms of channels and content and how we will package that," he said.

"Atlantic has been very successful on Sky's TV package and we will be looking to bring people that kind of content through Now TV."

Sky is still keen to roll out downloadable content, but is aware that rights holders like movies studios and sporting bodies have to be comfortable with the situation.

With Now TV only offering streamed content, Sky is aware that there is a mounting desire for films and programmes that are available offline.

Speaking to TechRadar, Now TV director Simon Creasey confirmed that the company had not stopped looking to bring downloadable content to its users, but suggested that a lot more needed to fall into place before that was possible.

Stream of confidence

"We're launching as a streaming service and we're really confident with that but if we find out that there is more and more demand for downloads then we will continue to look at that," Creasey told TechRadar at the launch of Now TV.

"As and when the rights management is in place, the technology is in place and we think it's the right thing to offer then we will look to bring that as well.

"But right now we think the streaming service is something people are used to doing."

Sky has unveiled the pricing behind its Now TV service, the non-subscription streaming option to watch the broadcaster's offerings that launches on July 17.

Now TV which will be on the YouView platform when it launches as well as Xbox, iOS, PC, Mac and selected Android devices will start out offering a movies-only service, but sport will arrive by the end of the year.

An all-you-can-eat movies subscription – offering the on-demand library and live movies channel – will be available for £15 per month.

PAYG

A pay-as-you-go service will go against Lovefilm and Netflix with movies priced between 99p and £3.49 for the latest blockbusters.

Simon Creasey, Director, Now TV, comments: "Now TV will bring more choice to UK consumers and an easy way to enjoy amazing movies, instantly.

"Following the explosion in internet-connected devices, we know that more and more people are looking for great content to watch over the web, and that's where Now TV comes in.

"Offering a new and exciting way to enjoy Sky Movies on some of the most popular internet-connected devices, Now TV gives films fans everywhere a new choice."

Not NOW but soon

"As we move forward Now TV will get even bigger and better, with more devices and more platforms in the coming months," he promised.

"Customers can also look forward to the best live action from Sky Sports and great drama, comedy and entertainment from our Sky channels."

The service will not be offering HD streams on anything other than the games consoles – which interestingly means that YouView will not get a high definition option.

Sky confirmed to TechRadar that it would be trying to bring the service to Sony's PlayStation 3 and that talks were ongoing with a range of other platforms which could include Google TV.

It used to be the case that Sky would innovate and have to explain to its customers how to use its new tech – but now the tables have turned.

Speaking at the Future Entertainment Summit in London this week, Mike Darcey, Chief Operating Officer, BSkyB, admitted that Sky are no longer second-guessing its users with its new releases but now it is playing catch up with consumer demand.

Citing Sky+ as one innovation Sky had to teach and encourage its customers to use, he admits that, with the consumer expectation higher than ever before, Sky is now finding it difficult to keep up.

"When I first joined Sky, I felt like we were ahead of the consumer. We gave consumers things they didn't know they wanted," explained Darcey.

"Today, the opposite is the case – customer expectations have caught up and run away from us and we are scrambling to catch up."

On the go

One of the reasons for this doesn't seem to be the technology but more to do with rights management. Darcey notes that customers want the ability to take recorded content off of their boxes and watch it on the go – a gap Sky Go is currently trying hard to plug.

"The customer wants to take things off their Sky box and watch it on the move and that's fair enough – for us, this is really hard with viewing rights and the like."

Darcey did say that Sky's mobile service Sky Go is doing very well, however, and we should see more innovations in the platform.

"Television is becoming more mobile and mobile TV was an interesting idea when we got involved in 2005 but we were ahead of our time. It was clunky.

"Today, things have changed enormously – it has been transformed by an improvement in 3G, and rescued by Wi-Fi and Apple.

"There are now more than 10 million live streams a week on Sky Go – we have made this technology simple and accessible for the mass market."

Comcast, the largest cable operator in the US, has claimed that it is not looking to buy BSkyB, despite reports saying a deal is being worked out.

BSkyB has had a rather torrid time of late, with the corporation's major shareholder News Corporation – which owns a 39 per cent stake – being put through the mill by Ofcom. The regulator is currently deciding whether the company is 'fit and proper' to have a broadcasting license.

The New York Times reported this week that Comcast has been mulling over bidding for BSkyB if its shares were to come up, citing unnamed sources who believe that a deal is in its preliminary stages.

Rubbish rumour

Michael J Angelakis, Comcast's vice chairman and chief financial officer, tried to put the record straight however, saying of the rumour: "This is complete rubbish. It is total speculation and inaccurate."

BSkyB on the other hand has decided not to comment on the rumour and considering News Corp's stake in the company isn't even up for grabs at the moment, it's understandable that a statement hasn't been released.

The New York Times insists it is standing by its story, however, and points to the fact that Comcast isn't shy when it comes to bidding for majority stakes in big businesses.

Just last year Comcast took a 51 per cent stake in NBC Universal, a move that's similar to News Corporation buying up half of 20th Century Fox back in 1981.

Essentially both media monoliths control not only the making of movies and TV shows, but the delivery of them.

With this in mind, having Comcast's name even mentioned in the same breath as a BSkyB takeover will no doubt have pricked up the ears of the world's competition commissions.

Via New York Times

Sky has given the electronic programme guide (EPG) on Sky+HD boxes, known as Sky Guide, a lick of virtual paint.

The HD makeover puts on demand content front and centre, thanks to the success of the Sky Anytime+ service and on-box movie rentals.

Sky customers will start to see on demand content pop up on genre pages as well as in the options menu across the top of the guide.

Exciting Planning Game

Excellently, you'll be able to see more channels per page for the EPG, as well as browsing recorded programmes by genre rather than just chronologically.

And if you don't think all that sounds good then you only have yourselves to blame – Sky worked with subscribers throughout the development process in order to ensure tip top functionality and a thumbs up for the new look.

The phased roll-out will see tens of thousands of boxes getting the update today, with the rest of the customer base seeing the redesigned software before the year is out.

Finally, a little treat for the fact fans out there: Sky TV customers interact with the EPG a total average of 1.2 billion times in a month.

BSkyB will not be subjected to competition regulation over the dominance of its Sky Movies platform, thanks largely to the emergence of Netflix and Lovefilm, reports have claimed.

According to the Mail on Sunday, the satellite provider will not be asked to loosen its grip on first-run Hollywood movies, when the Competition Commission issues a preliminary report next week.

Last August, the regulators began investigating whether Sky's large subscriber base gave it an unfair advantage over competitors in the pay-per-view movie market.

However Netflix and Lovefilm are now offering ample alternatives to Sky Movies and Sky Box Office, according to the report.

Not quite as dominant

The newspaper says: "Following the entry of Amazon-owned Lovefilm and fellow U.S. operator Netflix into the market, both offering films online, the commission is likely to say Sky's position is no longer as dominant as previously thought."

The news comes less than one month after Ofcom urged the Competition Commission to continue examining the case as it had found no evidence that Lovefilm and Netflix were posing a threat.

Ofcom said: "We have not seen any clear evidence presented to demonstrate that the subscription video on demand services offered currently by LoveFilm and Netflix exert a sufficient competitive constraint on Sky Movies."

As well as the two chief on-demand rivals, Sky also faces increased competition from the number of Smart TV and connected set-top box providers, so it's certainly no one horse race.

The Commission will publish its full report in July.

Via: Reuters

Sky has announced that it is offering up 3D tennis on Sky 3D from May 28, thanks to a tie up with Eurosport.

Eurosport is a big producer of 3D and has the rights to the live 3D feed from Centre Court of Roland Garros, and will be piping footage from the French Open through the Sky 3D channel.

The news comes as Sky pushes its big weekend of 3D sport – which involves the Champions League Final, live boxing and the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final.

Summer of love

Speaking about the tennis link-up, John Cassy, director of Sky 3D, said: "We're delighted to be partnering with Eurosport and bringing our customers live action from the French Open, as well as the first 3D Olympics this summer.

"By working with channel partners and continuing to invest heavily in our own 3D sports coverage, we're able to offer our customers a fantastic array of sport in 3D this summer, with football, rugby, cricket and tennis all available in immersive 3D over the next few months.

"Thanks to our ongoing commitment to 3D, Sky 3D customers can look forward to a monumental summer of sport."

When it comes to the Olympics, Sky has announced that it will show off more than 100 hours of the London 2012 Olympics in 3D – this is again thanks to its partnership with Eurosport.

Sky's on-demand PAYG offering Now TV looks to be heading to UK shores before YouView.

Considering YouView was announced before television was invented – at least it feels that way – this will be a massive blow to the service that's trying to push itself as the de facto place for web content through a set-top box.

Now TV is a big gamble for Sky. It will be the first time Sky has offered its content out to consumers on a pay-as-you-go basis and not through a subscription, which has been its business model since it began in the broadcast business.

Sky:

"Now TV will widen the availability of Sky content on broadband-connected devices."

Widening the availability

According to Sky's first quarter results, Now TV is on track to launch in the first half of the year, "widening the availability of Sky content on broadband-connected devices."

Flick over to YouView and the picture is a little different. This is because its chairman Lord Alan of Sugar has asked for the service to be delayed as it just isn't up to scratch.

This delay is one of many, and let's put it into context: if this was an idea on The Apprentice the person who came up with it would have been fired in the first week for failing to deliver anything.

There are differences between YouView and Now TV – Now TV is likely to be PC and mobile focused, while YouView begs to be attached to a television by way of a set-top box.

Although YouView is certain to arrive at some point in 2012 – the backing of BT, BBC, ITV, Channel 5 and Arqiva gives it a 'too big to fail' air – it may be a case of too little too late.

Via Recombu

Sky has acquired the Acetrax video on demand service, which brings movie rentals through a host of connected devices from the likes of Samsung, LG and Panasonic.

The satellite provider, which continues to move further from its Dish-only roots, says the acquisition will strengthen its relationships with the manufacturers of Smart TVs, Blu-ray players and more.

The Acetrax purchase was quietly revealed in Sky's quarterly earnings report, with paidContent aptly describing it as a 'Trojan Horse' as Sky looks to boost its presence on connected devices.

"Through the acquisition, Sky will add to its experience and expertise in online video streaming, to help complement its expanding OTT activities, which include Sky Go and the forthcoming Now TV service," a spokesperson told paidContent.

"In addition to Acetrax's existing platform, Sky will also build on the existing relationships the company has established with connected device manufacturers and content providers."

Complementing expanding activities

The statement suggests that Sky will move aggressively to ensure Sky Go and Now TV, which will allow people to buy programming on a pay-as-you-go basis, will be staple apps in future Smart TVs.

Acetrax apps appear in Samsung, Panasonic, LG and Toshiba smart devices, while laptop and tablet manufacturers like Lenovo, Asus, Acer also offer access to the service.

It'll be available on 60 million devices in the UK and parts of Europe by 2015, the company says.

Via: paidContent

Sky's pay-per-view Now TV service remains on track for a launch in the next three months, as the company insisted it is now confirmed as Britain's biggest triple-play provider.

The trials and tribulation of the Murdoch family have overshadowed Sky's over business in the first three months of 2012, but the company has had a decent time with its broadband and telephony business according to its latest financial reports.

Although its core business, TV subscriptions only rose by 15,000 in the quarter, HD subscription increased significantly (up to 4.2 million) and broadband, telephony and line rental all went up by more than 200,000.

This led to the company declaring it had the "largest base of triple play customers in Britain at 3.2 million, up 24% year-on-year".

NOW TV update

Also on the horizon for Sky is its next major service - Now TV - available to anyone with a broadband device.

"Now TV on track for launch in first half of calendar 2012, widening the availability of Sky content on broadband-connected devices," confirmed Sky.

Chief executive Jeremy Darroch pointed to the growth in customers taking bundles, broadband, telephone line and television.

Good start

Darroch: ""The decision to focus our marketing on home communications has paid off with...confirmation that Sky is now Britain's favourite triple play provider."

"We have made a good start to 2012," he said "In what remains a tough economic environment, strong and consistent execution of our plan has delivered good growth across our product range.

"We have grown revenues by 5% while holding prices flat for customers and delivered a record nine-month operating profit of £908 million alongside 24% growth in earnings per share.

"The decision to focus our marketing on home communications has paid off with our fastest quarter of growth since launch and confirmation that Sky is now Britain's favourite triple play provider.

"More households are choosing Sky and taking more products from us because we're constantly looking to improve the quality and value that we offer.

"Already in 2012, we've launched an entirely new channel dedicated to Formula 1, given millions of households access to a huge choice of on demand TV and made our market-leading broadband service even better with the launch of our fibre products and free out-of-home WiFi.

"Looking ahead, we will continue to improve our service for all Sky customers as we believe this is the best way to build a larger business and continue to increase returns for shareholders."

Ofcom has requested the Competition Commission still look into Sky's dominance in the pay TV movie market, despite streaming opposition.

It was thought that the arrival of Lovefilm and Netflix in the home movie market would be enough for Ofcom to get off Sky's back over its huge movie bounty but this doesn't seem to be the case.

The regulator has announced that it is still requesting that the satellite giant's stranglehold be looked into, as it could still be seen as anti-competitive.

In a recent report Ofcom suggested: "We have not seen any clear evidence presented to demonstrate that the subscription video on demand services offered currently by LoveFilm and Netflix exert a sufficient competitive constraint on Sky Movies."

Now and next

The report also warns of Sky's upcoming PAYG TV and movie service Now TV, believing that the launch of this may be seen as a direct rival of Lovefilm and Netflix.

"What impact Now TV will have on competition will depend on the content of this proposed service and its price point.

"In 2010, we considered a proposal from Sky to launch a limited Sky Movies product at a relatively low price point on DTT, within a service known as 'Picnic'.

"While Sky's reasons for launching Now TV are unclear, there may be some similarities with the Picnic proposal. It could be intended as a response to the Lovefilm and Netflix services."

It concludes by noting that in the future Netflix and Lovefilm may well offer competition in the movie space but this isn't the case at the moment.

"Lovefilm and Netflix clearly have ambitions in the pay TV retail market, but their ability to compete directly with Sky on a sustainable basis is not certain and critically dependent on access to compelling content which is currently controlled by Sky and likely to remain so.

"Therefore, it is unclear that they can be relied upon in the future to address the adverse effect on competition and the resulting detriment to consumers identified by the CC [Competition Commission] in its Provisional Findings."

Via the Guardian

Sky has announced that it has nabbed the rights to show the entire collection of James Bond movies in HD and will begin to show them in October.

The reason we have to wait so long is that this date coincides with the 50th anniversary of Dr No and it's a month before the latest Bond movie to hit cinemas, Skyfall.

This isn't the first time HD versions of the movies have been broadcast on television – ITV can lay claim to this but Sky is pointing out that these will be uninterrupted – ie, no ads – and they will also be available through Sky Go and Sky Anytime+.

• How to watch the James Bond movies in order

Iconic movies

"We are simply delighted to have secured the Bond films for our customers" explained Ian Lewis, Director of Sky Movies.

"Everything about these films is iconic – whether it's the cars, the gadgets or the catchphrases. What's more, they've become hugely significant culturally; demonstrating the best of British film.

"It's an honour for us to have all of them for our customers, and we will ensure that we do them justice across Sky Movies, giving our customers the best possible experience in watching them."

Sky will also show behind-the-scenes footage from Skyfall in its 35MM show and it will be showing the two ugly ducklings of the James Bond world – the 1967 version of Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again in HD as well.

Sky News has admitting hacking the email accounts of members of the public to research stories, following allegations made by a Guardian report.

The satellite news channel, part owned by News Corp, says the hacks were authorised by senior editorial staff during the infamous "canoe man" case of 2008.

In a blog post on Thursday, Sky defended the decision, claiming the invasion of private accounts was 'editorially justified' and 'in the public interest' and that the information was passed on to the police.

The story of the canoe man

The story involved husband and wife John and Anne Darwin, who picked up a life insurance payout when the former faked his own death in 2002 and emigrated to Panama.

The Sky reporter discovered, by hacking the family's emails, that Anne Darwin was in cahoots with her husband, something that could harm her defense during her trial for deception.

Sky said in the blog post: "After careful consideration, Sky News granted permission because we believed the story was justified in the public interest. None of the material obtained was broadcast prior to the conviction and our coverage made clear that we had discovered and supplied emails to the police.

"There has been no attempt by Sky News to conceal these facts, which have been available on our website ever since. To be absolutely clear, we stand by these actions as editorially justified."

Finely balanced judgement

The broadcaster, partly owned by Rupert Murdoch, also added that the case highlighted tensions between the law and investigative journalism and also claimed it had the backing of the BBC.

The blog post added: "These cases are a demonstration of the tensions that can arise between the law and responsible investigative journalism. At Sky News, we do not take such decisions lightly or frequently. Each and every time, they require finely balanced judgement based on individual circumstances. They must always be subjected to the proper editorial oversight."

Sky also accused the Guardian of double standards, noting the newspaper and its sister publication The Observer's phone-hacking past.

Via: Guardian

It's all change at the top for BSkyB, which has announced that its chairman James Murdoch is to stop heading up the company.

The news comes after what has been a tumultuous few months for the entire Murdoch media empire.

The move, which has been seen by many as inevitable, is the second time Murdoch has had to resign from a high-ranking position within one of his father's companies. Back in February, he resigned as executive chairman of News International after the closure of the News Of The World in light of hacking allegations.

Murdoch:

"I am aware that my role as chairman could become a lightning rod for BSkyB."

Murdoch has been executive chairman of BSkyB for five years, after taking over from Rupert Murdoch in 2007.

At the time Sky was quickly making its transition to HD and since then Murdoch has been very vocal about the state of TV in the UK and also the BBC. He criticised the Beeb back in 2009 saying that the ambition of the broadcaster was 'chilling'.

Since then, the BBC has signed up to offer its on-demand content through Sky, which is set to happen sometime this year.

In his resignation speech, Murdoch said that he was to leave his post to shield BSkyB from the recent criticism of News International, the company owned by Rupert Murdoch that has a minority stake in BSkyB.

Lightning rod

"As attention continues to be paid to past events at News International, I am determined that the interests of BSkyB should not be undermined by matters outside the scope of this company," Murdoch explained.

"I am aware that my role as chairman could become a lightning rod for BSkyB and I believe that my resignation will help to ensure that there is no false conflation with events at a separate organisation."

His replacement is set to be deputy chairman Nick Ferguson, while Murdoch has announced that he will stay on the board in a non-executive capacity.

The departure of Murdoch is one of many changes Sky is going through at the moment – the most interesting being its change from a satellite broadcaster to a content provider, both through satellite and the web.

Just last month it announced that its programmes and movies are set to be offered on a PAYG basis through a service called Now TV, which is a significant move away from the company's current subscription model.

Via Sky.com

Sky has announced that its Anytime+ on-demand offering is now available to all Sky customers and not just those kitted out with Sky Broadband.

It's been a busy day for Sky, which also announced it is taking its bounty of content to another on-demand level with Now TV.

While this isn't happening until the summer, Anytime+ is available to all Sky customers now - it was teased back in January that this would be happening - as long as you have broadband connectivity.

Sky has bolstered its Anytime+ line-up of late, with more content added to its Sky Store and the addition of ITV archive content to the service.

The BBC will also be bringing content to Anytime+ - this is set to come 'later this year'.

Flexible service

Speaking about the announcement, Luke Bradley-Jones, Director of TV Products, Sky commented: "It's great to be able to bring our on demand service Sky Anytime+ to even more customers, helping them to get more out of their Sky subscription.

"We already know how popular Sky Anytime+ is and how the flexibility of the service gives customers more choice and control over how they watch an amazing range of content.

"We've seen strong demand for it to date which we hope to increase now that the service is available with any broadband provider."

The news coincides with the launch of a new Sky+HD 1TB box which also has 1TB capacity for Anytime+ content.

Sky has announced Now TV, a new service which is set to launch later in the year and offer Sky content through the web on a pay as you go service.

The new service will be made available on a range of devices – PCs, Macs, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, games consoles and connected TVs – and will offer Sky's premium content on a non-contract basis.

While Sky is a little fuzzy on the details, it has said that the content will be available either as a pay monthly deal, or on a pay as you go basis.

Spontaneous Sky

Speaking about the new service, Sky's chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, said: "The launch of a second brand is an exciting opportunity for us and the rationale is very simple. Having two brands will allow us to meet the needs and preferences of different customer segments more effectively.

"We'll offer two distinctive ways to watch: the market-leading full Sky service for the whole family, complete with the widest range of channels, high quality products like Sky+, HD and Sky Go, and the peace of mind of a monthly bill; or the flexible, more spontaneous, pay-as-you-go service of Now TV.

"Because Now TV will also be 'powered by Sky', customers will still know that it will give them the best, exclusive content and a high quality experience, from a provider they can trust. Either way, we believe we can offer even more customers a product that's just right for them."

The service will put Sky in direct competition with the likes of Netflix and Lovefilm - which means the UK is going to have even more choice as to where to get its on-demand movie and TV content.

The Now TV UK release date has been pegged for Summer 2012. Head over to NOWTV.com for more details.