Sky has announced that new customers will be able to get Sky, HBO Max, Disney+, Hayu and Netflix together as part of Sky Ultimate TV from £24 a month – rolling out this March. Existing customers will get access as part of their Sky TV subscription, with over £20 worth of streaming apps included each month, with:

• Disney+ Standard with Ads from March (date to be confirmed)
• HBO Max Basic with Ads from when it launches in the UK & Ireland on March 26th
• Hayu from July, with a selection of content available from March

Existing customer eligibility:

• Sky Stream and Sky Glass customers with Sky Ultimate TV will get Disney+ Standard with Ads, HBO Max Basic With Ads and Hayu content added to their pack alongside Sky TV and Netflix.

• Sky Q customers with Sky Signature, Sky Entertainment and other eligible packages will get Disney+ Standard with Ads, HBO Max Basic With Ads and Hayu content added to their pack alongside Sky TV. Sky Q customers with Sky Ultimate TV get all of these plus Netflix.

• Sky+ customers will have access to HBO Max Basic With Ads content and Hayu content alongside Sky TV.

• Disney+ Standard and Disney+ Premium customers can move their existing plans to Sky and save £5.99 a month on their bill.

• Eligible customers with Disney+ and HBO Max access can upgrade their subscription plan if they would like, with the cost of Disney+ Standard with Ads and HBO Max Basic With Ads deducted from the cost of the higher tier subscription.
• From launch, HBO Max Basic with Ads will be packaged together with NOW Entertainment, included at no extra cost for existing customers and fully integrated into the NOW platform.

“This marks a new era for Sky and NOW. In a world-first, we’re bringing together Sky, Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Hayu into a single Sky TV subscription. Nowhere else offers this breadth of incredible entertainment in a fully integrated experience, with everything customers love watching side by side so viewers can jump from show to show with ease,” commented Sophia Ahmad, Chief Consumer Officer at Sky.  “Millions of existing customers will get easy access to this new line-up as standard at unbeatable value. All NOW Entertainment customers will get access to HBO Max, included at no extra cost, fully integrated within the NOW app. We’re proud to continue Sky’s legacy of innovation, making it easier than ever for people to enjoy the very best entertainment and best experience, all in one place.”

Sky Cinema customers will also get a new Disney+ Cinema linear channel, giving them access to a selection of movies as part of their subscription.

Reacting to the news, Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight said: “We are now seeing the first fruits of a streaming service bundle, which will help address the fragmentation that currently exists. Despite Sky’s aggregation play, the ‘all-in-one’ message has not yet resonated with users and households alike. Maybe, in part, due to the rise of streamers. However, users are now well aware of the true cost of signing up to these different services. Arguably, now is the right time to renew this ethos again and aggressively lean into the all-in-one approach. Sky will now flex its muscles and position itself as a provider, offering users a wide range of choices and value.”

“Disney is copying Netflix’s strategy and needs the Sky relationship to grow its subscriber base. It’s less worried about cannibalising its premium service, since users might switch to a cheaper ad-tier. This offers millions of people more affordable access to Disney+, benefiting content creators and advertisers and enabling them to reach a larger audience. Overall, this is proving to be a crucial year for TV. We should expect telecom providers to ramp up their TV efforts significantly to attract subscribers away from Sky. Free-to-air broadcasters are facing challenges, and we are still awaiting a formal takeover offer from Sky for ITV. The next battleground is whether users and households prefer a gatekeeper like Sky or a telco,” he added, writing on LinkedIn.