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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Movies currently unavailable

Platform PC/Android tablet. Paid subscription.

 

Hi there. Is there any reason why 5 of my shorlisted films are now "currently unavailable"? Being easter I was looking at catching up with "My TV" list but all of a sudden I am unable to watch them. On a different note, I am disappointed it takes NOW TV so long adding new titles, and even if you do so they are 80% type B films, or movies that tanked or are low budget. I am not quite the movie buff yet most films I am left to see are not even blockbusters. That's my rant there. Please fix the currently unavailable for now. 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Anonymous User
Not applicable

bboy, I get it that films then have a license that expires, so I am even more puzzled by the fact that NowTV does not seem to be bothered to tell users about this issue.

 

My understanding comes from my previous experience with many other providers of cinema content, be it online streaming or by post. One of them, just to cite an example, posts a list of which films will be taken down each month. A simple solution NowTV could provide is to list the  "expiry date" once the film has been added to the library, thus allowing users to program their cinema nights based on their playlists. 

 

I appreciate your clarification regardless.

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Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User films are added and removed on a regular cycle based on licensing rights signed with the movie studios. 

It's unlikely that those you added to My TV will return anytime soon. 

As for new movies, Sky have first rights to about 90% of all new films at the cinema, often three months after the DVD/Blu-ray release. Unfortunately the quality of these films is down to Hollywood not Sky. 

You'll find four new films added each Friday and a list of those coming here

Anonymous User
Not applicable

@RTESEA, thanks for your clarification. I was completely unaware NowTV would keep titles on the library only for a limited time. Perhaps, SKY/NOWtv should clearly state which movie offers expire and when since users will be disappointed to see their bookmarked movies  have been removed. Likewise, showing a 'wide' variety of recent titles leaves the impression that the library constantly expands, when clearly that is not the case if you are removing titles at the same time.

ukbobboy
Legend

@Anonymous User

 

Hi Cyclops

 

I think you have a basic misunderstanding of how films are bought and displayed for viewing in the UK.

 

Now, if you owned a TV broadcasting company you will find that, in most cases, you can't actually buy films like the public can buy a DVD/Blue Ray, you effectively rent them for a short time which is based on the copyright agreement you are able to negotiate (bigger TV companies can negotiate better deals).  So in effect, a film can only be displayed as long as your agreement is still in effect. Once your time limit is up you have to stop showing the film or risk breach of copyright and possibly a hefty fine and the distribution company, that supplied the film, will probably never work with you again.

 

So, that is why films are dropped, i.e. not through choice but because of what could be negotiated when the film rights became available.

 

Hope this explanation helps.

 

 

UK Bob

Anonymous User
Not applicable

bboy, I get it that films then have a license that expires, so I am even more puzzled by the fact that NowTV does not seem to be bothered to tell users about this issue.

 

My understanding comes from my previous experience with many other providers of cinema content, be it online streaming or by post. One of them, just to cite an example, posts a list of which films will be taken down each month. A simple solution NowTV could provide is to list the  "expiry date" once the film has been added to the library, thus allowing users to program their cinema nights based on their playlists. 

 

I appreciate your clarification regardless.

ukbobboy
Legend

@Anonymous User

 

Cyclops

 

You know I can't answer your question about Now TV's admin processes, it will be for them to work that one out for the benefit of their customers.

 

Cheers

 

 

UK Bob 

Jason-C
Community Administrator

Hi @Anonymous User, @ukbobboy, @Anonymous User,

 

I wouldn't normally pop my head into a public conversation such as this, but wanted to note the point you've made as I think it's relevant. Sorry to hear the movies you wanted disappeared; if/when they return, your Watchlist should update.

 

As for how we currently try to make people aware, it's mentioned in our terms that content availability changes often, and we have a Leaving Soon section where we highlight movies that are expiring.

We are actually expanding, as we tend to add more movies each month than we remove. I know Sky Movies like to shout about consistently having 1000+ titles, but one day maybe that'll reach 2000 and they'll change their advertising! 🙂

 

As a comparison, I don't believe Netflix or Amazon Prime currently provide a list to their customers directly, but some third party websites are apparently able to extract the information. Netflix used to post theirs publicly but stopped.

 

I don't know if this is something we'd be able to support, but I can certainly feed it back to the right people. Hope that makes sense, feel free to ask questions; the other users on here often have the right info (as you can see in this thread!)

 

Thanks,

Jason

commanda6
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Jason-C wrote:

Hi @Anonymous User, @ukbobboy, @Anonymous User,

 

I wouldn't normally pop my head into a public conversation such as this, but wanted to note the point you've made as I think it's relevant. Sorry to hear the movies you wanted disappeared; if/when they return, your Watchlist should update.

 

As for how we currently try to make people aware, it's mentioned in our terms that content availability changes often, and we have a Leaving Soon section where we highlight movies that are expiring.

We are actually expanding, as we tend to add more movies each month than we remove. I know Sky Movies like to shout about consistently having 1000+ titles, but one day maybe that'll reach 2000 and they'll change their advertising! 🙂

 

As a comparison, I don't believe Netflix or Amazon Prime currently provide a list to their customers directly, but some third party websites are apparently able to extract the information. Netflix used to post theirs publicly but stopped.

 

I don't know if this is something we'd be able to support, but I can certainly feed it back to the right people. Hope that makes sense, feel free to ask questions; the other users on here often have the right info (as you can see in this thread!)

 

Thanks,

Jason


Hi @Anonymous User @ukbobboy

 

@Jason-C Is correct it's actually more difficult to determine what's leaving on Netflix and Amazon than it is to determine what's leaving on nowTV as Netflix and Amazon don't have a leaving soon section and they don't publish what's leaving soon. on Amazon. You have to look at each piece of content individually to figure out whether it's leaving soon and it's impossible to figure out on Netflix. Yes, there are improvements be made, but now TV is by far not the worst offender in this area. I subscribe to all three services, so I'm looking at this with a level head.

 

It would be nice if the movies section showed the expiry date of movies like the entertainment section does with entertainment content but the movies portion of the system isn't currently designed to do that and I believe it would be quite a significant change. The Movies section indexes content and displays information differently because it's not designed to split content into individual episodes

 

with regard to the number of movies that now TV have on the system. There are currently 1115 movies available . The "all movies section" of the now TV website shows you this.Smiley Wink And as @Jason-C says that does appear to be slowly expanding.


I do not work for Now . I am simply a Now customer trying to help I am a Community Contributor This means that I know a lot about the service. But just like you I am still a customer. This means I cannot help you with issues that would involve looking into your account directly. A member of the now TV forum team or live chat will need to assist you with these issues.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

harf way though Clear and present i was cut of saying movie not available this as just happed this bad service to me.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Unfortunately @Anonymous User Clear and Present Danger left at the end of the month, which is why it cut out half way through. 

I'd really wish that NOW TV put the leaving dates on the apps/website for films like they do for TV shows, so then you'd have known before starting to watch.