Sky has signed deals with Warner Bros Discovery and Disney, meaning that both HBO Max and Disney+ with ads will be available as part of the Ultimate TV bundle, costing from £24 for new customers (£41 with broadband).
The extra streaming platfoms join Netflix which is already in the bundle and Paramount+ which is included with Sky Cinema.
Introducing the news at a launch event I was at in London this morning, Sky’s chief consumer officer, Sophie Armand said “we are so excited to be the only place in the uk that can offer customers this incredible range of content.
“It delivers over £20 worth of streaming apps per month. It’s unbeatable value [that gives you] all of that entertainment content and all in one place.”
The services will be fully integrated into the platform, meaning that the shows will show up in the Continue Watching and Top Picks rails on the Sky TV interface as well as voice search.
What existing customers need to do
Existing Sky customers can simply port their HBO Max or Disney+ accounts over and get a £4.99 or £5.99 discount if they have a more premium package (to include 4K or remove ads) than the basic packages with ads.
With the advent of HBO Max in the UK and Europe, it was thought that Sky would lose the shows that previously would have launched on Sky Atlantic.
However, Sky has countered the launch with a stonking bundle deal that not only includes HBO Max shows but Disney movies and TV as well, including the Hayu reality TV streaming service.
Sky even says that as part of the Disney deal, it will have a Disney+ Cinema channel showing wall-to-wall Disney movies.
Shows that have previously been on Sky Atlantic – such as White Lotus and House of the Dragon – will stay showing on Sky Atlantic.
HBO Max is set to carry TNT Sports content as it moves across from Discovery+ but this will not be included in the bundle, so you’ll still need to pay for a TNT Sports subscription if you want that.
Now TV will also have a new Entertainment & HBO Max bundle costing £6.99 a month.
An interesting extra snippet is that Sky said there would be a new Sky Go app is coming later this year for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers. But it looks like Sky Q users are being left out here.
- Sky Glass Gen 2 and Sky Glass Air up the game for streaming TVs with these updates
