Sky to launch Now TV this week

Sky has confirmed its internet television service, Now TV, will be available from Tuesday (July 17th 2012).

Unveiled at the Media Guardian Changing Media Summit in March, the proposition will offer access to hundreds of the latest films to be screened by Sky Movies without requiring any minimum-term contract.

Instead, users will be able to rent the movies they want to watch, or purchase a monthly pass.

The service will initially be available on PC, Mac and selected Android smartphones, before being extended to the iPad and iPhone later this month.

Later this summer, Now TV will be rolled out to the Xbox 360 console, while it will also launch on YouView when the new set-top box hits the market.

Now TV will first offer access to movies, but the service will be expanded to include sports and entertainment content in the near future.

Jeremy Darroch, Sky's chief executive, said the proposition will allow the satellite broadcaster to target the 13 million homes that currently have no pay TV subscription.

"We can reach out to them and offer them another way to access and watch our content," he explained.