Sky TV has treated viewers with its Sky Q set-top box to 300 new TV shows with over 10,000 episodes to binge-watch. The broadcaster is giving away a three-month subscription to Hayu to celebrate the arrival of the streamer on its Q hardware.
Usually £4.99 per month, the freebie available to Sky TV viewers users is worth £14.97. Cancel anytime during the three months and you'll be charged nothing to stream thousands of episodes of fan-favourite telly.
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You don't need to watch via Sky Q, with Sky Glass and Sky Stream users also able to claim the free gift — the second giveaway for Sky TV viewers in as many weeks.
You should find a link to the 3-month free subscription on the homescreen of your Sky Q box. Hayu specialises in reality telly, with a number of popular shows airing on the streaming service within 24-hours of new episodes launching in the United States
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But if you don't have any of these Sky boxes under your TV, you'll have to settle for the week-long free trial available for all new users to Hayu.
Hayu launched on Sky Glass and Sky Stream late last year. Both of these devices, which launched five years after Sky Q hit the market, are powered by EntertainmentOS — a new operating system built from the ground up to juggle streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, and Hayu, with a traditional EPG (Electronic Program Guide), and fitness and music streaming apps available on the platform.
Sky Q runs on a separate operating system. Integrating the streaming service with this older platform explains the six-month gap between Hayu arriving on Sky Glass and Sky Stream, and making its way onto Sky Q.
Starting today, Sky Q viewers can find the Hayu app within the Apps menu on the homescreen. You can also use the voice remote functionality built into the Sky Q remote control and say “Hayu” to launch the streamer.
If you already have an account, you can sign-in and start watching now. If you want to stream for free, we've got instructions on how to claim your free three-month subscription below.
For those who don't know, Hayu is a popular streaming service dedicated to reality telly, with the likes of The Real Housewives, Below Deck, Vanderpump Rules, andMillion Dollar Listing New York all available to watch.
The streamer launched seven years ago with a singular focus on bringing popular US reality television shows to UK fans as quickly as possible. Before the streamer made its debut, fans of shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians would need to wait days before the latest episode would drop arrive on UK channels.
That would lead to fans stumbling upon spoilers on social media, creating huge frustration. It would also incentivise piracy since fans would have to wait weeks to see the episodes that were being discussed by US fans and written about extensively in US publications.
It's a similar problem that led to Sky Atlantic broadcasting episodes of must-see shows like Game of Thrones, Succession, and House of the Dragon at 2am in the UK — the same time the latest episodes were being watched in the United States.
Subscribers to Hayu are still able to watch the latest episodes of (mostly) American reality shows and true crime documentaries within 24 hours of their release on cable television in North America.
How to watch Hayu for free on Sky TV
Sky is giving away a three-month trial to Hayu via its Sky VIP loyalty scheme. Sky VIP is open to anyone with either Sky TV, Sky Mobile or a Sky Broadband contract.
If you're not already a member, you can register online or by downloading the MySky app on iPhone or Android.
Alternatively, you can claim your Hayu subscription by saying “Sky VIP Hayu” into your Sky Q remote. To start watching for free, you'll need to register for a Hayu account to sign in to the streaming service.
If you don't cancel during the three-month trial period, your subscription to Hayu will be renewed in the fourth month at the usual £4.99 a month fee.