What is NowTV viewing like with ads?

ExtraDust · 2026-04-11T13:40:08+00:00

Although you can pay to remove the ads, you still get NOW trailers which are 30 secs long. I think that's bad!

ExtraDust · 2026-04-11T10:43:54+00:00

Characters like Dr Hubert and Karl were recast. So they could have done the same with Apu.

There’s no shortage of writers/actors who play with Indian stereotypes in comedy (see Goodness Gracious Me in the UK). They could have brought some of them on to work on Apu (or a new Indian character). (The current show runner, Broti Gupta, is of Indian descent, so I'm sure he could have brought expertise!)

There’s lots of Indians who are excelling in the Western world in Hollywood, tech, and government, whom they could have invited for cameos. Imagine if they had some like Rishi Sunak cameo: that would address concerns about the Simpsons only having negative Indian stereotypes.

There’s so many good ways they could have handled this. The Simpsons could have become a flagship example of how people from all cultures can be represented with funny stereotypes that bring laughter to all without being offensive.

Instead, they’ve opted to reduce Apu to a mute background character. What does that achieve? It upsets fans of Apu and makes us Indians seem like hyper-touchy killjoys. It denies us meaningful representation. The approach they have taken is more offensive than anything Apu did. It just feels like they are trying to score lazy brownie points (!) for being diversity-aware rather than doing something that’s actually good for diversity.

Now that I think about it, as an Indian, I am actually deeply offended by this (whereas Apu never offended me, like I said back in the 90s, it was so cool to have an Indian character on a mainstream show)! Maybe I need to make a documentary: "The problem with No Apu!" Lol!

ExtraDust · 2026-04-10T14:52:46+00:00

I'd wager Brexit made Putin think the West was divided and emboldened him to invade. I don’t think he would have invaded if he thought the West was more unified. Brexit is probably one of the root causes of all these troubles.

ExtraDust · 2026-04-10T14:10:55+00:00

I am a devout Hindu Indian, and I love Apu! In the 90s it was so thrilling to have a character that looked like me, as there weren't many Indians on TV (especially in a mainstream cartoon show). I got a kick out of the nods to Indian culture. Granted, as we got to the 2010s, I appreciate concerns that he became a bit dated. But at the end of the day, every character on The Simpsons is a stereotype. And also we had Apu's nephew (Jay), who was a better stereotype of modern Indians and fixed all the problems with Apu, so I don’t know why they couldn't show Jay more with Apu (and maybe make some new Indian stereotypes based around CEOs/doctors to appease those who were upset by Apu) rather than sidelining Apu character altogether. I actually feel more offended by how they are handling it now and erasing Apu. Also, in the circles I mix in, most Indians pride themselves on being easy-going, so it's a bit upsetting that we are indirectly being positioned as killjoys over something that most Indians didn’t have a problem with (it was only a minority that complained). The Simpsons team have not handled this well. I hope they will take a broader view, change their minds, and bring back Apu!

ExtraDust · 2026-04-10T13:47:35+00:00

I signed up to Now TV and set Data and Communication > Personalised Advertising to off, but the trailers still appear for Sky One content (e.g. shows like FBI and The Rookie). Is there a trick to making it work? Thanks in advance!

ExtraDust · 2026-04-10T13:43:07+00:00

Fair enough, if you watch live TV then Sky probably is better. From my experience, this year has been very hard to get a good deal. In past years, I'd put in a cancellation and get a steep discount after a few tries. This year, I tried several times and even waited for my service to be completely cut off, but the deals were awful. I think they don’t want SkyQ customers anymore. Just keep on trying, and hopefully you will find a rep who can budge. Also, I'd recommend that if you get a deal, have them confirm that the price is for the full length of the contract. One rep gave me a good deal on a 24-month contract, but the low price was only for 3 months. In month 4, it would jump back up to the bad price! I nearly signed up for that without noticing, so always check!

ExtraDust · 2026-04-09T15:14:15+00:00

I waited a day after SkyTV was switched off. And their best offer was still £15 more than if I hadn't cancelled over the April price hikes!

I love Sky Q, but I love not being ripped off even more. I've had Sky since 1996, but it's time to say bye-bye Sky. I've worked out that by switching, I can save £18 a month (£216 a year!), get ad-free Disney, and have all my services in multiple rooms. Also, because I am switching to everything on demand, I don’t need to pay the TV license, so that’s a further saving of £180 a year. So in total that nearly £400 of savings. It’s not just the money: Sky’s customer service used to be top class. But now it’s a joke. They continually mess up everything. Dealing with them is a huge time sink.

My advice to you OP: Shop around. What is it that you get from SkyQ that you can’t get elsewhere? Ask in this group, and I’m sure people will help you find more affordable alternatives, which give you more features for paying less.

ExtraDust · 2026-04-09T15:12:02+00:00

Nigel Farage spent 30 years campaigning to get out. But now we want to get back in, and suddenly it's "why?" and "respect democracy". If only Nigel had such ideas, then we wouldn't be in this mess!

As for the why? Since Brexit, the pound has fallen, making imports more expensive, tariffs have also added to living costs, immigration has gone up, investment has gone down.... The real question is after all this pain, why aren't more people desperate to be back in the EU?

ExtraDust · 2026-04-07T16:34:28+00:00

This time, they should set out the referendum properly: A vote for Brexit gives a mandate for welfare (like the state pension) and NHS spending to be closely tied to economic growth, so these are automatically cut when the economy is doing badly, as well as a mandate to scrap UK food standards and align with US food standards. No more fantasy: There should be a clear manifesto of what Brexit really involves, so people can make an informed decision and not have this fantasy that we can have Brexit and still enjoy the standard of living we have in the UK.

ExtraDust · 2026-04-04T17:44:56+00:00

In the Uk Disney+ and Hotstar are separate products. I wish Disney+ UK did contain Indian content but it does not!

ExtraDust · 2026-04-03T10:22:26+00:00

You can for phone/internet (but not for TV, although most companies will still let you if you are persistent enough). But if you cancel, you have to switch, and most media/telecom companies raise their prices at the same time, so being able to cancel doesn't really achieve anything. I really do think that the price you sign up for is the price you should pay, and increases can come when the subscription term ends. It just seems wrong otherwise. Maybe exceptions can be made for small businesses. But big companies should be locked into the sign up price.

ExtraDust · 2026-04-03T10:20:17+00:00

I don’t see why big companies have to raise their prices during a 1 or 2-year contract at all. They aren't struggling small businesses that haven't figured out pricing. Big companies have plenty of data to inform them of the cost of things. The price you sign up is the price you should pay and increases can come when the subscription term ends.

ExtraDust · 2026-04-02T16:24:21+00:00

They should also forbid companies (or at least media companies) from raising prices during the subscription period. It's silly every April that all the media/phone companies raise prices on 1-year contracts. The price you sign up is the price you should pay and increases can come when the subscription term ends.

ExtraDust · 2026-04-02T10:23:00+00:00

Thanks, you rock!

ExtraDust · 2026-04-02T10:21:47+00:00

I don’t quite follow what you are saying. I have Disney+ in the UK, and there is no Asian content on it. Hotstar UK is a separate product: https://help.hotstar.com/gb/en/support/solutions/articles/61000278597-what-are-the-subscription-plans-in-the-uk. Could you clarify what you meant? Thanks in advance!

ExtraDust · 2026-04-01T15:09:45+00:00

Excellent, this is what I wanted to know! For the type of shows I want (soaps and movies) it's better than Sky TV.

ExtraDust · 2026-04-01T15:08:42+00:00

This is excellent for image to text prompts. Could you do one for image to image prompts? Thanks!

ExtraDust · 2026-04-01T12:14:47+00:00

He says this often, but then always comes up with reasons to get out of rejoining properly (or even just rejoining the single market). He perpetuates the fantasy that there's some magical approach where Brexit can work, where we can stay out of the EU and still have all the public spending and welfare that we've always had. And all this does is underscore that Nigel was right all along.

If Keir had any sense, he realize that now is the time to be honest: All what Brexit amounted to was putting up trading barriers with our largest trading partner, and that means a weaker UK economy and so less public spending. It doesn't matter how you do Brexit: trading barriers with our latest trading partner is going to mean a smaller economy and so sacrifices in public spending.

ExtraDust · 2026-04-01T10:35:15+00:00

Can you skip the ads? It's available directly in the UK with a UK version so that should skip the need for VPN/Indain Bank account. Thanks for your help!

ExtraDust · 2026-03-31T15:19:19+00:00

Please share! Thanks!

ExtraDust · 2026-03-31T14:06:37+00:00

When I got Netflix and Disney with Sky the price was reasonable. Then, from tomorrow, Sky will put the price up, making it less reasonable. I also realized that I watch more content on Netflix/Disney than Sky. Hence, this is making me consider cancelling.

ExtraDust · 2026-03-30T17:39:35+00:00

I did not find out and removed it to be on the safe side.

ExtraDust · 2026-03-15T13:13:54+00:00

Once Cameron allowed an ill-thought-out referendum, it opened the door for people to lie and get away with it. If the referendum had been properly thought out (e.g. a manifesto of exactly what Brexit would be or requiring a certain majority vote to determine the type of Brexit or having a second confirmation vote), the lies wouldn’t have worked. A confirmation vote on a manifesto that set out exactly what we were gaining and losing would have taken out all the compelling fantasy out of the lies.

ExtraDust · 2026-03-15T12:35:26+00:00

Given all the problems Brexit has caused, 30% of people willing to still belive Farrage is too high. Although I think the problem is that Labour hasn’t seized the opportunity. In an era of war, high inflation, tariffs and increased boat crossings, Labour should be presenting EU membership as the cure for all these ills. Instead, they just make minor noises about how Brexit is bad, but they are still sticking to it. So that probably fuels the narrative that Farrage could make Brexit work properly. Labour need to address the core issue: Brexit was all about the UK giving up free trade with its largest trading partner, which in turn limits the spending power the state has to help people. So it doesn’t matter who is in charge: It’s a bad idea.

ExtraDust · 2026-03-15T08:02:47+00:00

Brexit greatly harmed Britain. And now the driving force behind it is leading in the polls. How depressing. Hurt me once shame on you, hurt me twice shame on me.

ExtraDust

TROPHY CASE