Sky is the largest media company and pay-TV broadcaster in Europe. After striking a deal with HBO in 2010, Sky launched their Sky Atlantic channel in 2011. The American company HBO is responsible for some of the best TV shows from over the pond. Sky has exclusive rights to broadcast major programmes such as Game of Thrones, True Detective, and Westworld. Viewers can also access box sets of older episodes of TV shows like Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, and Silicon Valley. The Sky Atlantic channel is also home to original programmes like Tin Star and Penny Dreadful. If you want to watch Sky Atlantic on your TV, read this guide to find out what your options are.
Watch Sky Atlantic on Sky
Obviously, the primary way of watching Sky Atlantic is with a Sky box and subscription. The good news is that Sky Atlantic comes as one of the standard channels in every Entertainment bundle. So even if you only want the lowest-price package at £22 per month, it will include Sky Atlantic. However, you will have to pay an installation fee, which depends on the box set-up. You will also be locking yourself into a contract for at least a year. This is unappealing for many customers who find Sky too expensive. On the plus side, being a Sky customer also gives you free access to Sky Go. This app will allow you to stream and download Sky programming on portable devices like smartphones and tablets. You will be able to watch shows from up to 30 days previously. You will have access to plenty of other channels as well as Sky Atlantic. Another downside, though, is that Sky Atlantic HD is only available if you pay for the Sky Box Sets bundle. This is also the only way to access the full back catalogue of TV show box sets on Sky.
Watch Sky Atlantic on Now TV
Fortunately for those who can’t fit a Sky subscription into their budget, Sky also owns Now TV. This streaming service operates on a rolling monthly contract, so you can cancel it whenever you like. You can choose from 4 different monthly passes, with a variety of passes available for Sky Sports. If you want to watch Sky Atlantic, the Entertainment pass includes this channel. It also includes Sky 1, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Fox, Gold, Comedy Central, Discovery, and Nat Geo Wild. You can get access to the latest TV shows for £9.99 a month with this pass, which would be a lot cheaper than an actual Sky subscription. There are lots of introductory offers available, as well as free trials. If your TV is not compatible, you can purchase a Now TV device to plug in and stream with. There are some bundles with passes so that even if you have to pay for an HDMI stick, you’re still making big savings. The Now TV app allows you to watch on phones or tablets, allowing you to register up to 4 devices. However, you can only make changes once a month when you have reached this maximum. Another issue is that Now TV only goes up to 720p. It might be disappointing if you want to watch shows in absolute HD, but for the price the quality is fine.
Watch Sky Atlantic on Virgin Media
Lots of people pay for Virgin Media subscriptions because they find them more affordable than Sky. However, Sky has exclusive content, including all those buzzworthy TV shows that people don’t want to miss out on. Virgin Media customers remain in hope that Virgin and Sky might negotiate a deal around Sky Atlantic at some point in the near future. Unfortunately, this does not seem very likely, as there have been several failed attempts since 2010. Virgin Media customers can access Sky Cinema and Sky Sports by purchasing add-ons on top of their packages. There is no option to add-on Sky Atlantic, unfortunately. Until Sky and Virgin come to an agreement over that particular TV channel, Virgin Media subscribers cannot watch it. They will have to look into other ways, such as paying for a Now TV pass on top of their Virgin Media subscription. Otherwise, you may want to swap pay-TV providers and join Sky.
Watch Sky Atlantic on YouView
Some viewers may have a YouView box instead, with either BT, TalkTalk, or Plusnet as the provider. These are generally cheaper than Sky, but you do get less out of them. Customers can purchase a Now TV Cinema Pass through their YouView box, but not the Entertainment pass which includes Sky Atlantic. However, there’s nothing stopping viewers from purchasing an Entertainment pass directly from Now TV instead of through YouView and watching it online. That said, Sky and BT have made an agreement over making some of their services accessible to each other’s customers. So, the full Now TV service will be available for BT TV customers, including the coveted Entertainment pass, from early 2019. In exchange, Sky customers will be able to buy BT Sports packages directly.
Other Ways to Watch Sky Atlantic
If you want to watch Sky Atlantic, then the only way to legally get access to this TV channel is to subscribe to Sky or purchase an Entertainment Pass from Now TV. However, if there is only one show or a few shows on the channel that you want to watch, then you can get around that. It might be cheaper for you to simply purchase a digital box set of the TV show. You can usually stream and download this to watch it on various devices whenever you want to, which also makes it more convenient than a physical DVD or Blu-ray. Lots of HBO and other American TV show box sets are available to buy from streaming services as well as YouView boxes. Check Apple‘s iTunes, Google Play, or Amazon Prime. Some shows might even be available to watch for free as part of an Amazon Prime membership.
