Comcast’s Sky Deutschland has rolled out an ad-supported version of its streaming service, Wow.
The new ad-lite tier of service, called Wow Basic, costs €8 a month (about $9 a month) and offers up a robust selection of German-language and imported television series. A similar tier that includes movies costs €10 a month (about $11.20 a month), while a sports-inclusive plan is priced at €30 a month (about $33.60 a month).
The ad-free version, called Wow Premium, remains available at €13 a month (about $14.60), which also unlocks high-definition video and surround sound audio, along with the ability to stream content on two devices at one time.
Sky Deutschland is also removing a limitation for PC users that required them to download a program if they wanted to stream Wow programming on their desktop or laptop computers. Now, streamers who prefer to watch shows and movies on computers can simply visit the Wow website on any supported browser, log in with their credentials and start streaming without anything extra to download or install.
Wow is also rolling out a new autoplay feature that automatically starts the next episode of a series as soon as the current episode ends, though streamers can disable this if they prefer.
Wow Basic customers who are willing to commit to a six-month subscription can save on the price of either plan, with the ad-lite series tier charged at €30 (about $33.60) and the film-inclusive plan priced at €40 (about $44.90). Sports fans can also save by committing to a six-month plan, which brings the price down to €150 (about $168), or €25 a month (about $28 a month).
Wow launched in 2014 under the Sky Online brand. It was renamed Sky Ticket two years later, and came under Comcast’s control through its broader purchase of Sky Group assets in 2018. Comcast renamed Sky Ticket to Wow last year.
Wow holds the streaming rights to several blockbuster television series from Warner Bros Discovery’s HBO and Warner Bros Television, along with Sky Original series and films from Dreamworks and Universal Pictures. It also offers live access to select matches and events from Bundesliga, Premier League and Formula 1.
Wow is available to any television fan who has a broadband Internet connection, and is accessible on Apple and Android phones and tablets, Amazon Fire TV devices, Apple TV, Magenta TV, Xbox and PlayStation game consoles, Samsung and LG smart TVs, Google TV-powered Sony TVs and some Roku devices.
