Sky Movies Box Office expands

[NewsreadeR]

As part of its mission to offer film fans more choice, control and flexibility over how they enjoy movies at home, Sky is this week significantly expanding the number of titles available through its Sky Movies Box Office service. With hundreds of movies now available to rent on demand, classic back-catalogue titles have been added to the existing Box Office service, which already offers Sky customers the opportunity to rent the very latest releases at the same time as they become available on DVD.

So whether it’s the latest blockbuster release, or a classic from yesteryear, Sky Movies Box Office now offers a comprehensive pay per view service that allows customers to download, at the touch of a button, a movie to suit their mood. The new movies – which include such all-time favourites as the Back to the Future trilogy, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Billy Elliot - will be available to rent from this week through Sky’s video-on-demand service Sky Anytime+.

The expanded Sky Movies Box Office service provides a selection of classic films in addition to the choice of more than 800 subscription movies that are already available each month to Sky Movies subscribers. A subscription to Sky Movies provides customers with access to 12 movie channels – all of which are available in high definition - while for no additional charge Sky Go allows access to movies via PC, Xbox* and laptops, and on the move using smartphones and tablets.

To reward their loyalty, Sky Movies subscribers will be able to rent the additional movies at a reduced rate**, although the movies will also be available to any Sky customer who has Sky Anytime+. The movies will be available to rent either through the Sky+HD set-top box, or via Sky Go on PC, Xbox or laptop.

The expanded choice of new films will sit alongside the existing range of new releases on Sky Movies Box Office, which will now be marked up on the Anytime+ menu as ‘Now on DVD’. Sky Movies customers will also be able to rent new releases at a discounted rate. New releases will also be available to all 10.3 million Sky homes, with ‘Now on DVD’ titles also distributed over satellite to the Sky Box Office linear channels.

“We’re extremely excited that we are able to offer hundreds more movies through Sky Movies Box Office. It offers a superb range of films, spanning all-time favourites to brand new releases, and we’re delighted to be able to give our customers even more choice.” comments Ian Lewis, Director of Sky Movies & Sky Movies Box Office. “Our customers tell us that when it comes to quality movies, there is no such thing as too much choice. With the extension of our Sky Movies Box Office service we’re ensuring that our customers have the highest levels of control and flexibility over how and when they get their movies fix.”

Sky Anytime+ is available to customers with a Sky+ HD box who take Sky Broadband. It builds on the control and flexibility already offered through Sky+ and the existing Sky Anytime service. Using Sky Broadband as a gateway to a deep library of programming, Sky Anytime+ allows Sky customers to access thousands of hours of great content to their TVs via their broadband connection.

For more information about Sky Anytime+ and Sky Movies Box Office visit: Sky Anytime+

*Xbox access to Sky Go requires Xbox Live Gold subscription
**Pricing structure outlined below – 50p discounted rates

• Customers in ROI can rent new releases on the SBO channels and on their PC or laptop via Sky Go
• High Definition (HD) movies will be exclusively available to Sky+HD customers at the same price as Standard Definition (SD) movies

Accessing Sky Movies Box Office Library
Scroll across to the Box Office tab






Or

Through the Box Office category under the Movies tab



Accessing Sky Anytime+

• New customers who are having Sky+HD installed for the first time will have the option of having their set-top box connected to their router at the time of installation
• Existing customers will have the option of either self-installing for no additional charge or requesting an engineer visit
• Customers will be able to choose from having either a wired or wireless connection

Sky Broadband offer two packs which include:

• Sky Broadband Unlimited is £7.50 a month for Sky TV customers with Sky Talk and offers up to 20Mb download speeds. It comes with no usage caps, fair use policies or traffic management, making it ideal for those who want the freedom to download emails, photos, TV programmes, movies, games and use Sky Anytime+.
• Sky Everyday Lite is free for Sky TV customers with Sky Talk and offers up to 20Mb download speeds with a two gigabyte usage allowance and is suitable for those interested in basic internet browsing.
• Sky Anytime+ is currently only available to Sky Unlimited and Sky Everyday Lite customers. This requirement is due to Sky’s confidence in its network to offer the level of security and delivery necessary to guarantee a high-quality customer experience.

[Scubbie]

I guess that it was to be expected that Sky would start charging via the back door for the Anytime+ content.

Anyone fancy spending an extra £2.49 (or £2.99 if you don't have both movie packs) to watch the original Alfie film? It would be better if it were available in HD as well, not just SD.

[*]Sky Anytime+ is currently only available to Sky Unlimited and Sky Everyday Lite customers. This requirement is due to Sky’s confidence in its network to offer the level of security and delivery necessary to guarantee a high-quality customer experience.[/LIST]

Are they implying that someone on Virgin, TalkTalk or BT Broadband isn't on a secure network?

[Annie UK]

Funny how Sky GO can run on any ISP but Anytime+ must be SkyBB

[Soapy1965]

I guess that it was to be expected that Sky would start charging via the back door for the Anytime+ content.

Anyone fancy spending an extra £2.49 (or £2.99 if you don't have both movie packs) to watch the original Alfie film? It would be better if it were available in HD as well, not just SD.

I don't want to pay for any stuff from anytime +, but when you look at the a-z listing of movies it can be very easy to accidentally select a PPV title. It would be better if you could turn off box office stuff and PPV competely so that it did not show up in the listings.

One question, if you do select a box office title, does it just start downloading straight away like the free stuff and hence are you charged straight away, or do you get a confirmation prompt before the download (and charging) starts?

[Scubbie]

One question, if you do select a box office title, does it just start downloading straight away like the free stuff and hence are you charged straight away, or do you get a confirmation prompt before the download (and charging) starts?

Personally I haven't tried. Perhaps someone else can comment on this?

I know that with standard Box Office you are advised before the charging begins.

[Soapy1965]

I should have also said, that I have my boxes set up so that they require a PIN for purchases over £0.00. I'm hoping that would cause a prompt, but my natural reaction is to never trust Sky when it comes to trying to take money from you.

An opt-out for PPV would be the ideal situation.

[Alan b]

One question, if you do select a box office title, does it just start downloading straight away like the free stuff and hence are you charged straight away, or do you get a confirmation prompt before the download (and charging) starts?

Don't quote me on it but I think you can download the entire movie as you are not charged until you start to watch it, so even if you only watch 2 seconds of it, it will change to viewed in your planner and you will then be charged for it.

[markymarc]

Ridiculous..

Why do I pay the movie package and have anytime plus for?

Anyone with a movie package should have it for free as part of anytime plus, wasnt this the idea?

It annoys me that they say that you can watch full box sets on anytime plus yet it is very hit and miss as they may only have 7 episodes at a time, I started to watch Terranova last night and 1, 2 and 4 are there, where the hell is 3..

The library is now becoming a joke with so many duplications appearing a filter is much needed to seperate the SD, HD and box office catagories.

I cannot wait for more competition in the streaming market, this is the future of movies so why should I pay a subscription and then pay to watch an old movie, bring on Netflix when it eventually arrives.

[Mooresey]

Why would I want to rent Die hard for £2.99 when I can probably buy it for that price