{"id":46802,"date":"2026-06-09T07:34:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T06:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=46802"},"modified":"2026-06-09T07:44:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T06:44:32","slug":"sky-uk-cuts-live-tv-sport-streaming-latency-with-new-real-time-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/sky-uk-cuts-live-tv-sport-streaming-latency-with-new-real-time-feature.html","title":{"rendered":"Sky UK Cuts Live TV Sport Streaming Latency with New Real Time Feature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Customers of Sky’s broadband-based Sky Glass<\/a> and Sky Stream<\/a> pay TV streaming devices and service are gaining access to a new feature called “Real Time<\/em>“, which is designed to improve the experience of watching live sports content online by “reducing latency between the live action and what viewers see on screen<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

The issue of broadcast lag<\/strong> (latency) in live online TV sport streaming is a well-known frustration. The problem typically causes streamed content to display a few seconds behind the action itself, which in some cases can even stretch into the tens of seconds. As a result, somebody listening via the radio or watching the live action via a terrestrial digital TV (DTT) channel may hear a key event take place before those viewing an online stream.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> The latency times of your home network and broadband provider can also have a tiny impact on the streaming delay.<\/div>\n

The latency created is the product of various aspects of how live video content must be processed \/ compressed, cached and redistributed over modern digital networks. Over the years we’ve seen various network operators and companies come up with ways of reducing the impact of this and Sky’s new Real Time<\/strong> feature for Sky OS<\/strong> is the latest example.<\/p>\n

Sadly, Sky hasn’t provided any technical details to explain exactly what they’ve changed and how much of a real-world improvement it will actually deliver (it doesn’t completely remove lag as they state: “see the action almost instantly \u2013 watch what\u2019s happening on the pitch within seconds<\/em>“), although it does appear as if ‘Real Time’ performance attracts some stronger broadband connection requirements. In addition, the Rewind Live TV<\/strong> feature won’t work at the same time:<\/p>\n

Internet Connection Recommendations for Sky ‘Real Time’<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n