Best offers on Sky Cinema

Sky is the best place to watch Sky Cinema as they include Paramount+, Premiere+1, offer full 1080p HD as standard, and bundle free Vue cinema tickets every month.

Customers living in a Virgin Media enabled area can also access the Sky Cinema pack through Stream for just £10 per month, with an additional 10% bill credit offer.

BT customers can also access Sky Cinema through TV and broadband bundles and as an add-on to their existing service.

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At a glance: Best Sky Cinema offers

The best offers for Sky Cinema vary from time to time, but usually involve money off for an introductory period, or even the length of the minimum term.

The best offers for new customers signing up to a Sky Cinema bundle include:

Sky are currently offering the Sky Cinema pack for just £8 per month with Stream. Customers get the channels in full 1080p HD, can record live shows, and get Paramount+ bundled for free too, which is worth an extra £6.99 per month.

Sky is also the only service listed here that includes content in addition to the Sky Cinema pack - Sky TV Entertainment customers get over 150 channels, with more than 30,000 shows to watch, as well as a subscription to Netflix.

As of October 2023, Sky are also now offering all new and existing Sky Cinema customers two free Vue cinema tickets every month.

Virgin Media Stream is also a good budget option. The Sky Cinema pack is on offer for just £10 per month (usually £14.99) and in full HD, with no other subscription charges required. The only downside is customers must also take Virgin Media broadband, so they'll need to live in a network area.

NOW are currently offering the Sky Cinema pack for just £9.99 and it can be bundled with NOW Broadband. It's the cheapest overall way to watch Sky Cinema, but customers should be aware it only includes the channels in 720p HD, and full HD in 1080p costs an extra £6 per month.

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Where is best to watch Sky Cinema?

The Sky Cinema pack is available to customers through Sky, Virgin Media, BT and NOW, and features:

• 11 live movie channels
• 1000+ films on-demand
• The latest blockbuster releases
• Exclusive content from Sky Originals

These benefits are the same whichever pay TV provider a customer chooses. However, there are other differences which may either not be available, or may incur further costs:

• Sky TV exclusively bundle Paramount+ for free (worth £6.99 per month)
• Sky also have an extra Premiere+1 channel
• Sky provide Cinema customers with two free Vue cinema tickets every month
• Sky and Virgin Media offer Sky Cinema in full 1080p HD
• NOW and BT customers will get Sky Cinema in 720p HD, full HD costs £6 more
• TalkTalk customers get NOW Boost, and therefore full HD included
• NOW and TalkTalk customers can't record live programmes, and downloading is restricted to iOS or Android smartphones and tablets

Overall then, taking Sky Cinema from Sky directly offers the best features and arguably the best value for money. It's also possible to take Sky TV without bundling broadband, although doing so can save more than taking services separately.

However, because customers also have to take the standard Sky TV pack, it's not ultimately the cheapest way to watch Sky Cinema.

For those on a budget, NOW offers the absolute cheapest way to watch Sky Cinema, but customers should be aware features and viewing quality are more limited.

For example, if customers want to watch Sky Cinema in full HD, they'll end up paying more than those watching through Sky TV or Virgin Media Stream. Although, as mentioned, to get Virgin Media Stream customers will need to also take Virgin Media broadband, which isn't available nationwide.

Here's a quick rundown of the main differences between each TV platform:

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Sky Cinema on Sky

Sky Cinema is available with any Sky TV package, on Sky Q, Sky Stream or Sky Glass.

Sky Stream and Glass customers currently pay just £8 on an 18-month contract, or £10 for a rolling monthly contract and more flexibility. While existing Sky Q customers can get Sky Cinema, it now costs more than on Sky Stream and Glass.

Sky Cinema on Sky includes the following benefits:

• All 11 Sky Cinema channels in full 1080p HD
• An additional, exclusive, Premiere+1 channel
• Paramount+ included at no extra cost (worth £6.99)
• Two free Vue cinema tickets every month

Paramount+ is supported on the new Sky Stream Puck box, Sky Glass, and Sky Q box. Sky is the only pay TV provider to bundle Paramount+ with Sky Cinema, although Virgin Media added support for the app in May 2023.

Paramount+ includes hundreds of films from Paramount Pictures, CBS and Showtime, giving a wider range of movies and shows to Sky Cinema customers at no extra cost.

Sky Cinema deals for new customers include:

Sky Stream versus Sky Q

There are a few differences between the Sky Cinema pack on Sky Stream and Sky Q.

Customers who take Sky Stream or Sky Glass have more options, with the ability to choose between an 18-month term and a one month rolling contract. The shorter contract option costs £2 more per month, but gives customers much more flexibility on what they watch.

Sky Q customers on the other hand, can only take Sky Cinema on an 18-month contract. Sky Q also has a higher out of contract price for Sky Cinema of £19 per month, which doesn't apply to Sky Stream customers who won't see such a hefty price rise.

Sky Stream and Glass don't have physical storage for recordings and downloads like the Sky Q box does, which means while they can add live programmes to a 'Playlist', they'll only be able to watch these while they remain available on the cloud.

Sky Q recordings on the other hand are stored on the customer's box, so will remain available until a customer chooses to delete them.

Sky TV and broadband

It's also possible to bundle Sky TV with Sky broadband for extra savings compared to taking the services separately:

While we've listed Sky Superfast Broadband above, which is available nationwide, Sky also offers a range of full fibre broadband plans with download speeds of up to 900Mb.

Check availability in your area with our Sky search page.

Overall, Sky is the cheapest way to watch Sky Cinema in HD, and Stream customers can opt for a rolling monthly contract if they want extra flexibility.

While Sky can be taken without broadband, customers will need to pay for a basic Sky TV plan to get Sky Cinema, which does push the price up.

Read our full review of Sky TV and Sky Glass here.

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Sky Cinema on Virgin Media

Virgin Media offer the Sky Cinema pack in full 1080p HD as standard, and is available on both their platforms:

• In a bundle with the Virgin 360 box
• As an add-on with Virgin Stream

Virgin Media TV, including Stream, is only available customers willing to bundle or take a broadband deal from Virgin, however. Which means it's also limited to customers who live in a Virgin Media enabled area.

The Sky Cinema pack is offered on a rolling 30-day contract with either Virgin 360 or Virgin Stream, unless it's taken as part of a pre-made bundle, like the Bigger Bundle + Movies or Mega Volt Bundle.

It's currently cheapest to watch Sky Cinema on Virgin Media Stream, with the add-on currently reduced to just £10 per month, from £14.99. That includes all the live channels in full HD and over 1000 on-demand movies too.

Stream, launched in April 2022, is the provider's online platform, and offers customers a 10% bill credit for any subscriptions they take, including on Sky Cinema.

Virgin Media's pre-made bundles also offer good value for money, as they combine broadband, calls and TV in one monthly price.

Because Virgin only include Sky Cinema in the Bigger Bundle + Movies and Mega Volt Bundles, there isn't a lot of choice for movie lovers on a budget.

It's possible to add the Sky Cinema pack to the Big Bundle, but it costs £21 per month, which bumps the cost up a lot, especially when you consider it's only £10 with Stream.

Unless customers want more TV and features that a physical box-set provides, the best way to watch Sky Cinema on Virgin Media is with Stream.

Read our full review of Virgin Stream, or about Virgin Media TV.

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Sky Cinema on NOW

NOW offers a low-cost way to watch Sky Cinema in the form of a NOW Cinema Membership.

For less than ten pounds a month, customers can stream all 11 live Sky Cinema channels, and access over 1000 on-demand movies, through the NOW TV app.

As a streaming service NOW doesn't come with a box-set, but instead offers an app supported by a range of smart devices, including some smart TVs and games consoles, which makes it possible to stream on a large screen.

The NOW Cinema Membership includes:

• 11 live Sky Cinema channels in 720p HD
• 1000+ movies on-demand
• Extra Paramount films

While NOW customers don't get Paramount+, they do include some extra on-demand viewing of Paramount content.

It's also possible to bundle a NOW membership with NOW broadband for extra savings:

At the time of writing, NOW are offering the Sky Cinema pack for £9.99 per month for 12 months when taken with one of their broadband deals, which makes it the absolute cheapest way to watch Sky Cinema.

However, one major drawback to NOW is that customers have no way to pause, rewind or record live programmes, and downloading on-demand films is restricted to iOS or Android devices, which rules out big screen viewing.

In addition, NOW only includes the channels in 720p HD, and customers have to pay an extra £6 per month for NOW Boost which upgrades viewing to 1080p HD and removes some of the adverts too.

Overall, NOW is great for those on a budget, especially where they have a NOW TV app supported device already.

Read more about device support in our full review of NOW TV.

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Sky Cinema on BT

BT TV offers customers the ability to add premium content through NOW TV Memberships subscribed to directly from the BT service.

Because the NOW Memberships are integrated into the BT TV Box Pro and BT TV Guide, customers get more features for Sky Cinema than subscribing directly with NOW, including:

• Pause and rewind live channels
• Record live channels to the BT TV Box Pro

BT TV customers either need to opt for a bundle which includes Sky Cinema, or they can add the pack separately to any plan.

Unless customers take the biggest VIP bundle, they'll also need to pay an extra £6 for the HD pack if they want to view Sky Cinema in full 1080p HD.

BT TV isn't the cheapest option for Sky Cinema, despite the add-on costing the same as with NOW. This is because customers have to take BT broadband, and at least one TV plan.

However, BT do also offer great flexibility with their TV service as customers can change plans on a monthly basis, and all add-ons are on rolling monthly terms too.

They also have the added benefits of the BT TV Box Pro, which allows customers to pause and rewind Sky content, and record live movies to watch later too.

Read our full review of BT TV.

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Getting the best Sky Cinema deal

Price is a major factor when looking for the best Sky Cinema deal, yet as each provider offers slightly different features and benefits, it's worth considering what will most suit your individual household too.

Other factors such as viewing quality, the ability to record live films, and flexibility on contracts are all worth bearing in mind.

Sky Cinema channels

The Sky Cinema pack includes 11 live channels as standard.

These channels are all viewable across the different platforms we've mentioned above, although customers signing up to Sky TV will receive access to an additional linear channel: Sky Premiere +1.

This is the current line-up of channels:

As mentioned, whether a channel comes in HD or not depends on which provider customers sign up with:

• Sky and Virgin Media offer Sky Cinema in full 1080p HD
• NOW customers get Sky Cinema in 720p HD, unless they opt for the NOW Boost add-on, which upgrades viewing to 1080p HD for £6 per month extra
• BT customers also get Sky Cinema in 720p HD, unless they take the HD pack for £6 a month, or take the VIP plan

Sky Cinema in Ultra HD

Only Sky and Virgin Media offer Sky Cinema content in Ultra HD, and even then, it's only select films, such as Sky Originals.

Sky customers can add the Ultra HD pack for £6 per month, while Virgin Media customers have to pay £7.

NOW and BT don't offer any Sky Cinema content in Ultra HD.

Sky Cinema on demand

Each provider offering Sky Cinema provides some way to watch it on the move, ideal for those looking to stream content while away from home.

Here's a quick glance at the apps used:

Thanks to BT using the Now Cinema pass, the way to watch Sky Cinema on devices is through the Now TV app rather than a BT-branded one.

It's also important to recognise that, while all providers say that some films are available to download on to a device to watch later, this will be governed by distribution agreements rather than the apps themselves.

The apps above will indicate clearly when a film can be downloaded, although there will be limits on how long it can stay on a device for once a customer downloads it.

Note: Paramount+ is not available on Sky Go.

Sky Cinema and Sky Sports

It's common to see reduced prices when customers take both Sky Cinema and Sky Sports plans together.

For example, Sky reduce Sky Cinema to £12 per month when customers take Sky Sports on the Sky Q platform, while Virgin Media offer a combined bundle for £46.25 per month in HD, which is a saving of £13.50 compared to taking the plans separately.

There's also value for money to be had when customers take bigger bundles, especially from Virgin Media, such as the Mega Volt, which includes Sky Cinema, Sky Sports, TNT Sports, Netflix, M500 broadband, and an unlimited O2 SIM.

NOW don't offer discounts for customers who take more than one TV membership, and neither does BT, unless customers opt for the VIP plan, which is their biggest bundle.

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Verdict: Who has the best Sky Cinema offer?

Sky Cinema is widely available across the UK, with contract free options available as well as deals sitting alongside TV packages from the major providers.

The best Sky Cinema offer is arguably with Sky, where customers can add the pack for just £8 per month for 18 months with Stream.

Additional benefits to watching Sky Cinema on Sky include:

• Free access to Paramount+
• Extra Premiere+1 channel
• Comes in full HD as standard
• Pause and rewind live channels, and record to 'Playlist' with Sky Stream
• Two free Vue cinema tickets every month

See the latest prices for Sky TV.

Overall, each of the platforms we've looked at have different strengths when it comes to Sky Cinema:

• Sky TV is best for those looking for a comprehensive TV plan and can be taken with or without broadband
• Now TV is a cheap and flexible option, but customers will pay more for HD
• Virgin TV must be taken with broadband and can be taken as a traditional TV service or as a streaming platform, so it's ideal for customers who want Virgin ultrafast broadband services
• BT TV must be taken with broadband and Sky Cinema channels can only be taken with other TV channels, although packages can be downgraded and upgraded. It's best for those who want BT's premium broadband and want to take TV as well

So, customers have various options when it comes to watching Sky Cinema, whether they want flexibility or are happy with a broadband and TV bundle.

Compare the latest prices for Sky Cinema bundles.