YouView vs. Sky Plus

The battle of catch up TV is here and it’s certainly looking to stick around by making an impressionable stamp on the market. In one corner is Sky +, the traditional service that has been around for years and lets customers catch up with all their favourite TV shows as well as offering showcased movies and other great programmes. Its opposition is YouView, the new kid on the block that plans a massive take-over as it begins to claw its way up the market. Services with such similar aims will obviously be contrasted against each other time and time again but which one comes out on top?

If we start by analysing the content of the two services, we can see a notable difference in what each system offers its customers. Sky offers an extensive collection of packages, each with their own unique channels such as Sky Entertainment with all the Freeview channels, Sky One, E4, FX and so much more. Other packages include Sky Sports and Sky Movies. In comparison, YouView falters a bit with the services it offers. Whilst it offers the Freeview channels and some of the free HD channels, you miss out on some of the great Sky channels. However, unlike Sky +, it does have catch up services such as BBC iPlayer and 4oD which does add a little extra gleam to the box. Its version of ‘scrollback’ TV certainly allows it to target a niche in the market and it comes with a large digital TV recorder capable of storing up to 300 hours of content.

In terms of the services’ interfaces there’s very little difference. As Sky has been around for longer, there is a certain stigma attached to it which promotes ease-of-use. The menu is clearly defined with special features at the top of the navigation page and every aspect is clearly displayed ensuring the viewer never has any problems.

Customers will take special notice of the way the services add extra content and specific upgrades to their packages and both YouView and Sky + make the most of this. Sky + offers a series of Box Office Movies which can be rented or purchased for a price of £3.49 (new movie releases) whilst YouView offers similar services with newly released films costing about £3.49 whilst older films cost 99p. Essentially there is an option to purchase a Sky Movies pass through YouView which allows you the same luxuries as Sky + with their range of downloadable content and movies.
YouView doesn’t have a subscription price but the initial box comes with a one-off fee, the price dependent on the size. Sky + depends on the package you select and you could be paying anywhere from £15-£50 a month. The Sky box is free unlike the YouView box but the subscription fee is continuous as long as you continue to use the service whilst YouView pays for itself after a year or so. Sky + offers a lot more services but for the casual viewer, YouView offers unmatched value.