Now TV having ‘no impact’ on core pay TV base

Sky’s Now TV “strategy is working” without any impact on the pay TV operator core base, and the OTT TV service’s customers are increasingly taking multiple packages, according to Marina Storti, director of strategy at Now TV.

Despite consumers being able to take and drop single packages via Now TV’s system of flexible day, week and month ‘passes’, Sky has seen 45% take more than one pass, and this means that they are more likely to be loyal to the service, she said.

Speaking at the Connected TV World Summit in London this morning, Storti said that “the vast majority” of viewing on the platform is on-demand, in contrast to the main Sky platform.

personalisation of the service as well as the launch of new content such as Twin Peaks and series seven of Game of Thrones.

Now TV’s most loyal customers are those that buy its dedicated Now TV box, Storti said. The latest version, the Now TV Smart Box, linked with the Sky broadband service, combines DTT TV channels and OTT TV. “Customers that use that box are even more engaged than other customer groups,” she said.

Storti said that Sky would focus on adding more devices through which Now TV can be accessed. Its other main goal is to make sure that customers use the service, she said. The company has invested in upgrading and innovating on UI to get customers to what they want faster. The latest UI is currently being rolled out, while Sky has also developed a dedicated kids UI as part of the main app.

Sky has to work hard to ensure that its mainstream offering and Now TV are highly differentiated, said Storti. In addition to a different content line up, its marketing is very differently pitched, based on genre-specific appeals, such as to those interested specifically in kids content or box-sets, she said.