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Now TV offers Game of Thrones simulcast Reviewed by RXTV-newsdesk on April 12, 2015 Rating: 5
Now TV offers Game of Thrones simulcast
April 12, 2015 Archive , featured Edit
Streaming service prepares for surge in demand
Now TV users will be able to watch most of the new season on Game of Thrones live as it's broadcast in the USA as Sky's streaming service prepares for a surge in demand.
The first episode launches in the UK at 9pm on 13th April via Sky Atlantic and then via catch-up.
From the second episode onwards, viewers will be able to watch a live simulcast at 2:00am early Monday morning (Sunday evening in the USA). The episodes will appear on catch-up shortly thereafter, and will also be shown on Sky Atlantic at 9pm as normal.
UPDATE 14/04/2015: Sky has decided to show the simulcast via the normal Sky Atlantic channel at 2am, which will make it easier for viewers to navigate to.
The first four seasons of the cult TV show will remain on catch-up until the end of April, with episodes from season 5 available for 30 days on catch-up.
Game of Thrones along with other Sky Atlantic programmes is part of the service's £6.99 Entertainment Month Pass and is available on a number of devices including Roku, Apple TV, Xbox and the Now TV box. The YouView version of Now TV doesn't include the Entertainment service, so viewers won't be able to access Game of Thrones via this method.
Now TV suffered high profile outages during the last season of Game of Thrones following a surge in demand, and its performance in the coming weeks will be a gauge to see if Sky has been able to meet viewer demand for its service.
Making episodes available live as a simulcast, then on-demand as well as its usual slot on Sky Atlantic should help to spread viewers out across the course of the next few weeks.