Sky’s done a reasonable job of bringing new channels to its Now TV set-top box, especially given the rebranded Roku is just a vehicle for selling short-term entertainment and sports passes to the contract-adverse. Today, that £10 box gets a little bit more useful, with the addition of an official YouTube app to the Now TV channel store. Sky can take credit for giving it the green light, but its arrival is no big surprise when the channel launched across the entire Roku range a few months ago.
Sky has announced that users of its Roku-made £10 streaming NOW TV box can now download a YouTube app for the device via the Roku Channel Store for the first time. While it’s not a big update, the addition is significant; the NOW TV boxes cost just £10 because they allow Sky to potentially increase the number of paying subscribers for its NOW TV Entertainment, Movies and Sports packages. However, the downside is a more cut-back list of app options than you would find on a Roku-branded device. With YouTube now joining BBC iPlayer, 4oD, ITV Player, Demand 5 and a number of other channels available via the NOW TV box, the device becomes an even more compelling low-cost option. Still, don’t expect to see rival services like Netflix or Amazon Prime streaming arriving on Sky’s NOW TV box any time soon.