Sky Store Buy & Keep hits iOS, Android, YouView, Now TV and Roku
By Tony Crammond
Sky Store's Buy & Keep back up service now lets punters watch content on mobiles, Now TV, Roku and YouView boxes.
Buy & Keep, launched last year, entitles customers who've bought a movie from the Sky Store to get a DVD hardcopy sent to them in the post after they've bought a title. This way, should you leave Sky or upgrade to a new Sky+HD box, you'll have a permanent copy of your purchases.
In the meantime, you'd be free to watch a digital version through your Sky set-top box, but not on any other devices, until now.
Nicola Bamford, director of Sky Store, said: "People want the simplest and most convenient way to buy and watch the movies they love, which is why it's great news that from today Buy & Keep will be available to everyone and across multiple devices. Sky Store offers the complete service – straight to your TV, across your devices and you get the DVD in the post too."
Android users will be able to browse and buy media, before streaming it or downloading it to their devices. iOS users will only be able to browse and watch content they've already bought through the app. On YouView, Now TV and Roku boxes, Buy & Keep will now appear as a separate option in the regular Sky Store menu.
You'll be allowed to register up to four devices and watch content on any two simultaneously as standard. It's not clear if subscribers with bigger families will be able to increase this threshold by paying a bit extra, like you can with Sky Go Extra.
Sky has also announced a new "follow me" function, so you can start watching a movie on your phone and pick up on another platform, which is handy if you start watching a flick on a lengthy commute or someone else wants to watch Made in Chelsea or Game of Thrones in the living room – you can take your half-finished movie with you. Or stick around to watch Chelsea/Thrones and carry on later.
Thanks to the deals Sky has with the major movie studios most Buy & Keep titles are early release, so you won't get the DVD in the post until they're available on general release. New releases cost £13.99 with favourites priced at £7.99.
While Buy & Keep gives you the option to buy digital copies of films in SD or HD, the hardcopy you're sent through the post will always be a DVD. There are currently no plans for Sky to send out Blu-rays with Buy & Keep.