It's even available to non-Sky TV customers for a monthly fee. It's got over 70 live channels overall, including the likes of Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts, and Comedy Central. Sky Go is included in any Sky TV subscription.
Most services that let you watch them live either come included with your TV subscription, or require a subscription of their own.
Premium channels you get with a pay-TV package are often available to watch online - at a price. Want to more know more? Take a look at our guide to on-demand TV.
Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video, for example, both have web browser versions that let you watch plenty of on-demand series - not to mention a whole load of films too.
If you're looking to lose yourself box sets and glossy TV series, signing up for a paid streaming service is your best bet. They'll let you watch shows as and when you want to, whether it's episodes of your favourite show that you've missed, box sets to binge-watch, or sports highlights.Ĭonversely, other TV channels have content available on-demand but don't always let you watch them live - including Demand 5 (for Channel 5) and UKTV Play (for Dave, Drama, Really, and Yesterday). Catch-up and on-demand TV explainedĪlmost all TV streaming services that let you watch live TV have plenty of on-demand content too, including BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub and More4, SkyGo, Virgin TV Go, TalkTalk TV and Now TV. However, if you use any of those services to watch live TV (for instance, live Sky channels on Now TV or live Premier League games on Amazon Prime Video) a licence is required. If you’re watching catch-up or on-demand on Now TV, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, ITV Hub, Sky Go, Virgin TV Go, TalkTalk TV and More4, you don’t need a TV licence. Since 2016, a TV licence is required to watch any content on BBC iPlayer, whether that’s live channels or catch-up/ on-demand TV. It used to be the case that you didn’t need a TV licence to use BBC iPlayer, if you solely used it to watch on-demand TV and didn’t watch any live TV. Streaming is a data-heavy application and can really eat into your monthly allowance, if you’re not careful. If you’re using mobile broadband to stream TV, make sure you’re mindful of your data allowance or consider signing up for a plan with unlimited data. A speed between 2Mbps-3Mbps will fit the bill.īut if you want the best quality picture and want to enjoy what you’re watching without being interrupted by ‘buffering’, we’d recommend fibre broadband. You don’t need a really fast broadband connection to stream video online in standard definition.
So it’s also a good idea to have a charger handy too. It’s also worth noting that streaming TV drains your battery much faster than if you were just browsing the internet or checking your email. Depending on what you’d like to see and the device you’re going to use, you’ll either need to log into a TV streaming service on your browser or download an app.
Laptops, desktop PCs, tablets, smartphones and iPods all allow you to watch TV online. What do I need to watch live TV online 1. For others, you’ll need to download an app. Some are on web browsers, such as Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer or Firefox. Whether you want to see live Premier League games, blockbuster movies, big-budget American drama or classics from the BBC and ITV archives, they’re now available to watch online.