Sky Told to Stop Exaggerating Availability of Live Channels on NOW TV

The Advertising Standards Authority has told Sky (BSkyB) to stop exaggerating the availability of paid live TV channels (Entertainment Pass) via their Internet-based NOW TV service.

Readers will recall how ISPreview.co.uk first raised the problem in March 2014 (here), after finding that customers who typically spend £4.99 a month to purchase the Entertainment Pass (e.g. Sky Atlantic, Sky 1, Discovery etc.) were being left frustrated because many of the shows are blocked due to “Rights Restrictions“.

Now the ASA has issued a related ruling against a TV advert for the service.

ASA Ruling

“We noted the ad made specific references to the range of channels available via NOW TV and at one point the ad featured a prominent Sky 1 logo which was featured again towards the end of the ad along with other available channels. We also noted the voice-over that stated, “Watch 10 amazing live channels” which we considered gave the impression that all programmes would be available at the same time as they were broadcast.

We acknowledged that on-screen text stated “some content is unavailable on catch up and live channels. However, we considered that contradicted rather than clarified the voice-over. Because the ad gave the impression that all Sky 1 content could be viewed, when that was not the case, we concluded it was misleading.”

As usual the ASA told Sky to ensure that they “did not exaggerate the availability of channel content in future“.