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Now (streaming service)

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64-637: Now (formerly Now TV and often stylised as NOW ) is a subscription over-the-top streaming television service launched in the United Kingdom in 2012. It is operated by Sky Group in Europe, and Xfinity in the US; both owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast . Now offers both live streaming and video-on-demand without a contract. The service offers "passes" for various types of content, for

128-647: A 10% share in the UK OTT subscription market, placing it third behind Netflix and Amazon Prime Video . Before its launch, Hong Kong–based PCCW filed trademark complaints about British Sky Broadcasting's (BSkyB) Now TV service. In October 2012, a High Court judgment in London ruled that BSkyB did not infringe PCCW's rights regarding the Now TV name. Over-the-top media service An over-the-top media service (also known as over-the-top television , or simply OTT )

192-614: A Scandinavian cell phone carrier) which owned a non-controlling stake of 32.2%. After several years during which the implementation of the Spanish government's recommendations was delayed, the latter threatened to withdraw the licence if public actions were not taken. Actual operations started in June 2006, when TeliaSonera, a minority holder until then, acquired up to 76.56% of Xfera's shares and stated that they would restart building its UMTS network and start offering mobile services later in

256-439: A change to its brand positioning, which highlights the differences compared to the rest of the operators. Similarly, there are several versions of its logo in various colours to highlight its character as being different to other operators, which – according to Yoigo's advertising – differ only in colour. Until December 2007, the change from a prepaid service to a contract or vice versa presented technical difficulties, motivating

320-430: A closed, private network system that uses exclusive equipment like set-top boxes , which is typically the case with IPTV services (such as U-verse TV ). OTT services are typically accessed via television sets with integrated Smart TV platforms, streaming devices such as Amazon Fire TV and Roku , video game consoles , websites on personal computers , and apps on smartphones and tablets . In 2011,

384-450: A contract with a different data rate. Yoigo's operations were hastily brought to market by TeliaSonera under pressure from the Spanish government, who had seen a six-year delay in the actual use of a much-valued UMTS license. Nevertheless, Yoigo's CEO claimed they held a European record in bringing a cell company to market, since from the time when TeliaSonera had gained control to the actual date of launch only 150 days had passed. Yoigo

448-457: A day) drew customers. The company itself announced having tripled their expectations during the first months from launch and credited this unexpected success for the delays experimented in shipping of orders. In January 2009 Yoigo reached its first million customers. Between January and March 2016, Yoigo increased its revenues by 10.6%, reaching 221 million euros, as announced by its parent company TeliaSonera . Yoigo's competitors range from

512-531: A different strategy with respect to the rest of the operators in Spain, where the majority of users change operator most often due to rates and services, according to studies conducted in 2005. From June 2008, Yoigo abandoned this practice and began to offer terminals virtually free, but in 2012 they again stopped subsidizing new phones or smartphones, uniting the Movistar and Vodafone initiative and leaving Orange as

576-602: A mandatory minimum consumption - with what secondary rates exist without minimum consumption that don't receive publicity. The difficulty in contracting new rates resulted in Yoigo receiving complaints from FACUA (these rates are no longer available). On the other hand, they announced the limitation of free calls in January 2008, provoking great surprise and unhappiness among customers with notable repercussions throughout digital media. Various associations of consumers, like FACUA or

640-483: A monthly fee on a pay-as-you-go basis. Differing passes offer films, sports and entertainment from Sky such as material from Sky Atlantic and Sky Cinema , and from British and American licensed third-parties such as Fox . The service is available to consumers through retail Roku -based Now TV digital media players (in both set-top box and HDMI dongle form factors) as well as via an app on computers, various mobile devices, some game consoles and set-top boxes. It

704-422: A monthly fee, and sports on an ad-hoc basis ("pay as you go"). Unlike Sky's flagship satellite TV service, Now TV does not require a long-term contract. Now TV offers "passes" with a specific set of content or channels that can be watched on demand or as live TV. The "Entertainment" pass has general entertainment content/channels from Sky itself (e.g. Sky Atlantic ) and third-parties (e.g. Comedy Central ), whilst

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768-496: A national roaming agreement with Vodafone which guaranteed access to its GSM network until 2012, which offered 99% national coverage, significantly extending its area and quality of coverage, although access to Internet under Vodafone coverage is limited to GPRS speeds (maximum of 64 kbit/s). Therefore, some 3G network services which require a greater capacity and speed, like fast access to the internet, are limited to users who have Yoigo 3G network coverage. Customers that wish to access

832-464: A phone, PC, or smart television set. By mid-2017, 58 percent of US households would access one in a given month, and advertising revenues from OTT channels exceeded revenue from videos playing in web browsers on desktops and laptops. In 2019, the record of simultaneous users watching an OTT event was set at 18.6 million in India by Disney Entertainment 's video streaming platform Hotstar . The record

896-409: A qualifying date. As of June 2003 most of its investors were complaining about the huge amount of money they had lost in the yet-to-be-launched project, and in summer 2003 Vivendi —which faced problems of its own at that time— eventually left the group by selling its shares to the rest of the shareholders at the symbolic price of 1 €. In December 2003, with the backing of the remaining shareholders,

960-584: Is a digital distribution service offered directly to viewers via the public Internet , rather than through an over-the-air , cable , or satellite -based provider. The term is synonymous with " streaming platform ", such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video which provide access to subscription-based film and television content (SVoD). OTT bypasses cable, broadcast , and satellite television platforms—the media through which companies have traditionally acted as controllers or distributors of such content. This content may include shows and movies for which

1024-468: Is defined as instant messaging services or online chat provided by third parties, as an alternative to text messaging services provided by a mobile network operator . An example is the Facebook -owned mobile application WhatsApp , that serves to replace text messaging on Internet connected smartphones. Other providers of OTT messaging include Viber , WeChat , iMessage , Skype , Telegram and

1088-451: Is not expected to create any sales network of its own. It does have only-brand stores under the form of franchises owned by The Carphone Warehouse and other smaller groups. However, the simple and cheap rates Yoigo offered (0.12 € per minute and 0.12 € connection charge at every call, at any time or number within Spain) plus the inexpensive data plans (0.12 €/ KiB up to a maximum of 1.20 €

1152-579: Is separate from and not viewable through the Sky Go Internet service, or via Sky's digital satellite television service Sky Q . Sky Picnic was a proposed pay television service which would have sat alongside Freeview and Top Up TV on the digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform in the United Kingdom. The proposal detailed replacing Sky's three free-to-air channels ( Sky News , Sky Sports News and Sky Three ) with five pay TV channels: Sky Sports 1 , Sky Movies SD1 plus Sky One during

1216-566: Is the audio, video, and other media content delivered over the Internet, without the involvement of a multiple-system operator (MSO) in the control or distribution of the content. The Internet provider may be aware of the contents of the Internet Protocol (IP) packets and may be able to block or restrict their transit to end users (unless that internet provider operates within a jurisdiction that requires " net neutrality "). However,

1280-465: Is the fourth-largest mobile network operator in Spain and a subsidiary of the Spanish telecommunications company Grupo MásMóvil , a subsidiary of MásOrange. Yoigo has a licence and its own cellular network for GSM/2G, UMTS/3G and LTE/4G technologies, and a national roaming agreement for usage of the 2G, 3G and 4G networks of Orange and Movistar. Although it commercially launched in December 2006,

1344-665: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Canada's telecommunications regulator, stated that it "considers that Internet access to programming independent of a facility or network dedicated to its delivery (via, for example, cable or satellite) is the defining feature of what has been termed 'over-the-top' services". In contrast to video on demand systems offered by cable and IPTV , which operate over managed networks where channels can be changed instantly and thus content available instantaneously, some OTT services such as iTunes require that

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1408-841: The "Kids" pass covers children's networks such as Nickelodeon , and a "Sky Cinema" pass offers over a thousand films from Sky Cinema . There is also a dedicated " Hayu " pass, and a "Sports" pass (which offers a daily or monthly option), along with a sports pass solely for mobile devices to stream live Sky Sports channels. The Now TV boxes and dongles have extra downloadable apps that provide access to free catch-up or streaming services such as BBC iPlayer , ITVX , and UKTV Play , as well as access to Sky Store , Netflix (added in late 2018), Peacock (added in November 2021), Sky Sports Box Office , Disney+ (added in April 2020) and YouTube . From Spring 2020, Now TV provided access to BT Sport , and at

1472-528: The 1800 MHz band and offers EDGE technology, while its 3G network operates in the 2100 MHz band and handles HSPA+ speeds. Since 22 July 2013, Yoigo offers 4G LTE in certain areas through the 1800 MHz band. Yoigo has reached an agreement with Pepephone which would allow Pepephone clients to make use of Yoigo's LTE network. This has been viewed with frustration due to Movistar's hesitancy in opening its data network up to MVNO through Yoigo. In July 2007, Yoigo subscribed to an agreement to share

1536-672: The GSM and UMTS networks of Movistar, the most extensive in Spanish territory. The initial length of the agreement was 5 years. Although the agreement permits the use of Movistar's network in national territory, including protocol HSDPA, it doesn't guarantee the maximum data transfer speed. According to a Xataka Móvil report, the agreement with Vodafone will continue, although they prioritize the connection through Movistar. On 21 February 2011, Yoigo announced that it would continue to use Movistar's network to provide service to clients that cannot find coverage under their own network. On 1 August 2013, it

1600-509: The ISP is not responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, and/or other redistribution of the content from the OTT provider. This model contrasts with the purchasing or rental of video or audio content from an Internet service provider , such as pay television , video on demand and internet protocol television (IPTV). OTT refers to content from a third party that is delivered to an end-user, with

1664-404: The ISP simply transporting IP packets. OTT television , commonly called streaming television , remains the most popular OTT content. This signal is received over the Internet or through a cell phone network, as opposed to receiving the television signal from a terrestrial broadcast or satellite. The video distributor controls access through an app, a separate OTT dongle, or a box connected to

1728-455: The Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP)-based transmission path where the transmission path is provided by a person other than the OVD. An OVD does not include an MVPD inside its MVPD footprint or an MVPD to the extent it is offering online video programming as a component of an MVPD subscription to customers whose homes are inside its MVPD footprint. In broadcasting , over-the-top (OTT) content

1792-557: The Now TV Box 2 does not have an analogue audio/video output socket. The Now TV Smart Box ("Smart Box with Freeview"), coloured black with a blue logo, was launched exclusively in the UK in July 2016. It includes access to Freeview channels through an aerial, via an internal DTT tuner that allows the user to pause (for up to 30 minutes) and rewind live TV. In January 2018, Sky introduced

1856-540: The Now TV Smart Stick dongle which plugs directly into a TV's HDMI input and includes voice search. It was noted as the cheapest smart TV stick in the UK, costing £14.99 at launch compared to £39.99 for its rival Amazon Fire TV Stick . The second generation Now TV Smart Box ("Smart Box with 4K") was introduced in September 2018 and is coloured black with a pink logo. It is smaller in size (mainly due to

1920-406: The OTT acquired licensed rights from the content owner. Programming may also include original content produced by the service or specifically for it. OTT services also include a range of "skinny" television offerings by streaming platforms, such as Sling TV and Hulu with Live TV , that provide live streams of specialty channels . OTT content is delivered via the public Internet instead of

1984-699: The Spanish market in 2023 with the introduction of SkyShowtime . On 23 May 2023, Comcast (parent company of Sky Group) announced plans to launch a U.S. version of Now TV as part of its Xfinity cable and broadband unit, which will be priced at US$ 25 per-month and include linear cable networks and free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services from Xumo Play and other partners. Upon its UK debut in 2012, Now TV offered only films at first, adding sports in March 2013, and entertainment channels in October 2013. Film and entertainment channels are accessed by paying

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2048-542: The Union of Spanish Consumers in Asturias, have already filed complaints against Yoigo for various reasons or they have announced their intention to do so. Yoigo addresses customers on familiar terms due to company policy. If a customer does not want the company to address them as such, they must explicitly request it. In 2013, Movistar complained that Yoigo's new "Infinite" rates were overloading Movistar networks. With

2112-436: The association of FACUA consumers to present a complaint to Yoigo. This process can be solved at any Yoigo store or by calling Yoigo customer service. In October 2008, among other novelties, Yoigo added the possibility of accessing the Internet through HSDPA (previously only available with UMTS and GPRS). At Yoigo's market entry, at the end of 2006, CMT obligated the operator to make more than one rate available and not to impose

2176-402: The board of directors decided to make an additional investment of €135 million, and opened negotiations with Amena (now Orange España ) and Vodafone Spain, in the hope of using a third party network as backup coverage while Xfera's own network was built. Further increasing operating costs, for legal reasons the company was obliged to keep a number of base stations operating from 2003 on, despite

2240-518: The carrier was to be called Xfera , a name reflected in its currently registered name of Xfera Móviles, SA. It was formed in 2001 as a consortium to compete for a new UMTS licence in Spain, which it finally won. At the time, its main shareholders were the French company Vivendi , the Spanish construction company Grupo ACS and Scandinavian cell phone carrier Sonera (now Telia Company ). After several technology and market problems in 2001, in common with

2304-618: The chosen smartphone and plan. At the end of the 24 months, customers can either return the handset and sign up for a new model or else make a final payment to keep the phone. With the intention of reducing costs, Yoigo structured itself as a shell company which operated in cooperation with several subcontracted firms: Ericsson for construction, management, and maintenance of their UMTS network; Dextra Móviles for handset purchase and logistics; Seur for deliveries; and Emergía for sales and customer service. Deadlines, overwhelming initial demand and Yoigo's peculiar structure brought problems during

2368-426: The company reported. Yoigo will keep LTE technology in 50 provinces, but plans an extension to reach 1,163 Spanish municipalities, offering coverage to 7.5 million inhabitants. Yoigo has been experiencing some problems with its billing department, but were solved by launching "Mi Yoigo" app for its clients. Any normal process is carried out rapidly and efficiently, however, if intervention by their billing department

2432-539: The company was founded in 2000, and had a turbulent start. From its creation, it was owned primarily by TeliaSonera (now Telia Company ), and since 21 June 2016 is now the sole property of Grupo MásMóvil, after the CNMC (regulator agency like Federal Communications Commission in Spain) authorised the purchase of 100% of its share capital. Its main competitors are Spain's other three companies with their own networks, Movistar , Vodafone , and MVNOs such as Lowi. Originally

2496-703: The company's initial months of operation, especially those related with order delivery (phones and SIM cards). Later, delivery services were apportioned to Correos , Spain's national post company, in place of Seur. As of now, this dilemma has been solved, and Yoigo has currently been awarded for their customer service. At the time of its launch, Yoigo only offered coverage with its own 3G network in nine cities ( Madrid , Barcelona , Bilbao , Valencia , Cuenca , Sevilla , Málaga , Cádiz and Palma de Mallorca ). Since Q4 2011, Yoigo also has its own 2G network. It hoped that its deployment would be quicker to avoid providing service using other networks. Its 2G network operates in

2560-404: The device using its Developer Mode. In August 2015, Sky launched the Now TV Box 2 (based around a 2015 Roku 2) in black. It offers the same content as the original Now TV (white) box, but has a faster processor, an Ethernet port alongside Wi-Fi, a USB port and an SD card slot (not functional by default), and is capable of outputting at full HD ( 1080p ) resolution. Unlike the original Now TV Box,

2624-437: The evening with one hour of Sky News content. There would also be two further daytime channels: a factual channel and a children's channel. It was first proposed in 2007 but was subject to a public consultation by Ofcom . Whilst the service was cleared to launch in 2010 it never officially launched, Sky having put it on hold in 2008. The Sky Picnic proposal was ultimately superseded by the internet-based Now TV platform. Now TV

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2688-589: The fact that the company had no actual users. This was due to the terms of the licence Xfera had been awarded, and failure to comply with such terms would have put Xfera in a poor position to rebuild its network, or even to keep the licence. The remaining shareholders as of May 2005 were a number of Spanish companies with no previous experience in telecommunications ( Grupo ACS at 34.8% of shares, Corporación Financiera Alba at 11.7%, Abertis at 8.4%, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas at 7.5% and Abengoa at 5.4%) with technical support from Sonera (now TeliaSonera ,

2752-412: The full TV service Sky Q. On 1 September 2020, Sky stopped offering the product in Spain. In Summer 2016, Sky UK extended the brand to telecommunication services by launching contract-free budget broadband internet in the UK, initially named Now TV Combo, and from early 2018 branded as Now Broadband . In early 2021, Now TV rebranded as NOW. In Summer 2022, Sky Ticket rebranded to WOW. Sky España

2816-463: The general launch delay suffered by UMTS technology throughout Europe, the company was at a standstill for several years. Its only operations during that time were the creation of its brand image, trying to achieve an agreement with an existing network operator to act as a backup for their newly created 3G network, and the setting up of a number of base stations so as to not lose their UMTS licence, which required them to maintain an active service prior to

2880-423: The implementation of their new LTE network, Yoigo's terminals suffered some errors with notifications on various applications like Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp Messenger. The problem laid in delays in the reception of instantaneous notifications which required adjustments in the network configuration. According to FACUA, Yoigo received a total of 9.3% of the complaints related to mobile phones with less than 1% of

2944-490: The internet under Vodafone coverage can do so, but only using GPRS access with smaller bandwidth. Yoigo is extending its network in big population centers, although the expansion speed is limited by the hindrances of local corporations when installing new antennas. Even so, Yoigo, through Ericsson, is rapidly expanding its network. On 11 March 2008, a new national roaming agreement was made public between Yoigo and Movistar. Starting in June 2008, it allows Yoigo clients to use

3008-428: The location of antennas with its rival Movistar. The shared placement agreement included permission for each operation to install UMTS antennas in rented locations of each other, and would allow for both companies to reduce renting costs. However, the agreement did not imply that Yoigo subscribers would have full coverage or the network service of Movistar. In January 2008, the firm made a similar agreement public about

3072-406: The market quote in 2007. Since 2012, it is the fourth company after Vodafone, Movistar, and Orange to receive complaints from FACUA, with only 2.9% of the total number of complaints. That said, it is worth noting that Yoigo is the Spanish telephone company with its own network that receives the fewest complaints. In terms of access to the Internet, Yoigo commercialized a Huawei E220 modem related to

3136-408: The now defunct Google Allo . OTT voice calling , usually called VoIP , capabilities, for instance, a softphone or as provided by FaceTime , Skype , Viber , WhatsApp , WeChat , and Zoom use open internet communication protocols to replace and sometimes enhance existing operator controlled services offered by mobile phone operators. Yoigo Xfera Móviles, S.A.U. , d/b/a Yoigo ,

3200-433: The only operator in Spain with this type of strategy. On the first week of March 2014, Yoigo announced that it would introduce what it described as 'car-style' leasing deals on a range of smartphones. The operator has yet to provide details of the handsets available under the plan or specific prices, other than clarifying that customers will need to pay an upfront fee followed by 24 monthly payments, its amounts depending on

3264-501: The playback device. It uses adaptive bitrate streaming . In July 2013, Sky launched a white Now TV-branded Roku streaming box, allowing users to stream Now TV content to their television via an analogue baseband connection or an HDMI input. It retailed for £9.99. It has limited access to the Roku Channel Store and only a pre-approved list of channels can be downloaded. A number of third-party channels can be side-loaded to

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3328-575: The removal of the Freeview TV tuner) and includes the voice search capability from the Smart Stick. This box is capable of streaming at 2160p (4K) resolution. NOW TV recently re-branded to NOW has announced late in 2021 that it is discontinuing all NOW hardware products. Wi-Fi Direct (point-anywhere) using 17 buttons. Infrared for television power and volume control using 3 buttons. Voice Search microphone . As of Q4 2018, Now TV had

3392-713: The same time Now TV became available for BT TV customers. On 28 June 2022, National Geographic departed the service as its programming moved over to Disney+. In its place, Now users had access to UKTV's mystery drama channel Alibi and NBC News Now, whilst customers with the Sky Cinema subscription package could access a range of films from Paramount+. Now is available on a number of platforms, providing access via both big-screen and small screen mobile devices (correct as of April 2020): The service offers streams at up to 720p resolution (or up to 1080p resolution, when subscribed to Now TV HD Boost at an extra cost) depending on

3456-547: The style of Three 's and Vivo 's, which also have no single colour set. Grupo MásMóvil bought the company in June 2016. Yoigo states that it bases its commercial strategy on "simplicity, efficacy, and low cost", and on the absence of small print, to differentiate itself from competitors. It seeks to define itself as "simple, just, clever, honest, and effective." Its advertising is simple, and uses childlike voices and phrases such as "real truth" or "really really" to gain consumers' confidence. In December 2014, Yoigo implemented

3520-414: The three main phone carriers in Spain ( Movistar , Vodafone Spain and Orange España ) to the new MVNOs like Simyo , Carrefour Móvil, Euskaltel Móvil, Happy Móvil (from The Carphone Warehouse ) and Lebara . In its market entry, Yoigo's CEO, Johan Andsjö, criticized the gift terminal strategy of other operators on various occasions, assuring that they would never offer free terminals. This supposes

3584-463: The use of shared location with Orange. Yoigo made an agreement with Movistar in order to use its ADSL and FTTH network, merging the mobile and fixed internet networks of Movistar and Yoigo. This agreement is being researched by the CNMC , which has opened an expedited sanction of both companies to investigate whether this fusion violates the Law of Competition Defense. In its market entry, Yoigo had

3648-588: The video be downloaded first and then played. Relatedly, some OTT services require movie download but can start playing the content before the download completes ( streaming ). The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) categorizes OTT services into two groups: multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) and online video distributors (OVDs). Virtual MVPDs include such services such as DirecTV Stream , FuboTV , Sling TV , Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV . The FCC defined an OVD as: any entity that provides video programming by means of

3712-468: The year. In October 2006, Xfera announced that it would launch the commercial service in December under its new brand Yoigo . The new name was chosen to reflect the simplicity in rates and ease of use of their services. At their launch in December 2006, Yoigo started with a limited UMTS network. Yoigo has now reached 80% national coverage, incorporating 4G LTE technology for their customers since summer 2013. Yoigo's logo bears some resemblance to

3776-647: Was a service of Sky and supplied over-the-top pay television and video on demand service accessible only through the Internet created to compete with Movistar+ , Netflix , and Amazon Prime Video in Spain. Yoigo is an operator of Internet and mobile services which maintains an exclusive agreement that allows customers to the rate into Fibra + la Sinfín with unlimited fibre access to Sky España service for €6 per month. The service ceased to be available on 1 September 2020. Some content had already disappeared prior to it closing on 10 August 2020. Sky returned to

3840-494: Was announced that the national roaming agreement, which gave Yoigo access to Movistar's 2G and 3G networks, expanded its validity until 2016. Yoigo has already begun to work on the expansion of its 4G LTE network in order to offer their services to about 80% of Spanish population in May 2016. At present, Yoigo's LTE technology network covers around 66% of Spanish population. The project has an investment of about 25 million euros, as

3904-673: Was born with largely sparse coverage of its own, relying heavily on a national roaming agreement with Vodafone's GSM network. Thus, services such as fast 3G internet access were restricted to those on Yoigo's own coverage footprint, limited to the largest cities, and others like video calling were not present at all. As for the sales network, Yoigo signed an exclusive 3-month agreement with The Phone House (Spanish branch of The Carphone Warehouse ) for distribution of their products in physical shops, while making most of their sales at their online shop. In April 2007 talks were started with other distributors like Carrefour and El Corte Inglés , as Yoigo

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3968-1001: Was broken again in 2023 with 59 million concurrent viewers during the ICC Cricket World Cup final on Disney+ Hotstar . Consumers can access OTT content through Internet-connected devices such as smart TVs , digital media players , gaming consoles , set-top boxes , desktop and laptop computers, tablets , and smartphones . The results of a 2018 in-house data analysis of their subscribers by Uscreen (a membership platform for video creators and entrepreneurs) reported that 45% used iOS and Android mobile devices to access their OTT content, while 39% used web browsers for streaming. The term "OTT" has also been used to describe no-carrier cellphones , for which all communications are charged as data, avoiding monopolistic competition , or apps for phones that transmit data in this manner, including both those that replace other call methods and those that update software. OTT messaging

4032-626: Was revamped as "Sky Ticket" and structured the same as Now TV in the UK, and was rebranded in Italy under the original British name of Now TV. On 26 April 2017, Now TV launched in Ireland. On 11 September 2017, the service launched as simply "Sky" in Spain, the first Sky-branded product in that country. In March 2019, Sky X launched in Austria, making use of a blend of Now TV and Sky Q elements, and replaced Sky Ticket, as an offering between Sky Ticket and

4096-625: Was unveiled by Sky UK in March 2012, and designed for people who have no existing pay TV subscription. Its official launch was on 17 July 2012, initially providing films, putting it in competition with Lovefilm and Netflix . The Now TV service was later extended to other territories covered by the Sky Group. In 2014 a similar internet service called "Sky Online" was launched by Sky Deutschland in Germany and Austria, and by Sky Italia in Italy in 2015. In 2016, Sky Online in Germany and Austria

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