Sponsored Links

The future of Sky TV

GreenLantern22

ULTIMATE Member
So I was looking at Sky's offers for TV and broadband and it's clear to me that they are now only pushing their Sky Stream and Sky Glass products. It's even hard to find the good old Sky Q offering. I know there are a lot of cord cutters which are either happy with no TV or the Sky Stream product. But the big money driver for Sky has always been Sky Sports and Sky Sports over IP is not as compelling as it is when comes live (either via SatTV or cable TV). I still remember watching England in the last world cup in the BBC iPlayer App to get the UHD stream and hearing my neighbours shout England's goals before they happened. At the moment the delay is about 30secs which is a lot. May be in the future they can come up with newer technologies which allow them to reduce this. We certainly all are able to do live video conferences without such delay but obviously distributing 4K content from one point to millions of other points is not as easy as it seems.

So what do people think it's going to happen with Sky's Sat TV business? Clearly it's slowly dying as more people cut the cord or move to IPTV solutions. So will the hold outs that want live sports keep it going or will they give up? What do you think?
 
It is said that by 2030, the primary method of ingesting television is going to be via IP, i.e. over the internet. I'd be more than happy to move to full IP Sky, not that bothered about having the dish as long as the service is good enough. 4K can be streamed effectively over FTTC even. I took the opportunity to remove the freeview aerial off the house when I had Starlink put up - it will be likely that when Starlink comes down, I'll time it such that I'll move to Sky Stream and will the Sky dish off the house as well.
 
Comcast (owners of Sky) are the atypical American cable tv supliers. They have a vice like grip on Cable boxes and earn huge monthly rents (just for the box apart from the channel subscriptions ) from subscribers for the inferior boxes they have had to put up with. In the US, people cannot even use their own set top boxes , such is their control.

So not surprised that they are inching that way here too. They will have total control over your viewing habits.
 
Sponsored Links
People in the UK have never been able to use their own set top box to receive anything over cable or any premium Sky channels over DTH satellite.

The USA has been an outlier in requiring the cable company to allow folks to ever use their own kit to receive digital TV.

Sky, etc, have always charged for the STB either directly or within the TV subscription. Freesat doesn't have a Videocrypt CAM in it so can't deliver premium Sky channels, cable STBs use mandatory 2-way authentication as people helping themselves to free TV was rampant.

I'm not sure what additional control you think Comcast are going to exert: there is none. In the USA they previously were supplying analogue TV then supported cable cards and have now gotten rid of those for technical reasons: the cards aren't compatible with the mid-split networks Comcast have been deploying.
 
People in the UK have never been able to use their own set top box to receive anything over cable or any premium Sky channels over DTH satellite.
Mild pedantry - in the analogue era you could use your own box. There was a wider choice of box to begin with, and even if yours did not have the videocrypt decoder, you could bolt one on.

and technically until Sky Q all boxes were owned by the customer after the end of the contract if given away by Sky, or immediately if bought outright - though Sky still charged for the paid HD channels and to enable recording features, this was rolled into the main subscription at various points
The USA has been an outlier in requiring the cable company to allow folks to ever use their own kit to receive digital TV.

Sky, etc, have always charged for the STB either directly or within the TV subscription. Freesat doesn't have a Videocrypt CAM in it so can't deliver premium Sky channels, cable STBs use mandatory 2-way authentication as people helping themselves to free TV was rampant.
Sky Digital uses Videoguard. No two way authentication on cable TV, in fact most of the third party cable boxes you could get were explicitly not two way capable and needed adapters to be connected if the local cable co is using SDV (bit like multicast IP but in the traditional cable/RF world. Certain channels are only transmitted on the local network if a box has asked for it. The adapter just adds the return path to send the requests)

I'm not sure what additional control you think Comcast are going to exert: there is none. In the USA they previously were supplying analogue TV then supported cable cards and have now gotten rid of those for technical reasons: the cards aren't compatible with the mid-split networks Comcast have been deploying.
They are compatible. Adapters do exist - these both perform the SDV function and translate the OOB data channel back down to the old frequencies so that the cablecard can see it. This is what Charter did for a little while, and apparently still does for people who still have cablecards.

Now that the US gov no longer mandates cablecard support, it's rather predictable that the cable cos aren't bothering and are just telling people to get IP-capable boxes, all of which they rent, or go "over the top" with Roku or Apple or whatever
 
I’ll stick with Sky Q as long as possible.
The sky Pucks are glitchy and sky stream as a service is lacking.

Sky Q works very well especially as a multi room service over other ISPs.

Long live sky Q 🤞
 
I’ve ditched sky recently and it took a bit of getting used to but I had previously had it for about 20 years.

With steaming services being our main viewing, most of our sky tv viewing wasn’t within the paid tv options. It even made keeping basic sky signature not worth it.

Other than sports which sky have a bit of a stranglehold on, I’m unsure what the appeal would be of sticking with sky.
 
Sponsored Links
I was referring to UK cable with the two way authentication though absolutely the US companies could do it too. SDV isn't universal and whichever decoders whether cable cards or proprietary STBs need to be provided keys for encrypted goodness.

Regardless, given the UK is all proprietary CAMs and mutually authenticated cable what extra control is Comcast going to exert by going IP?
 
I’ll stick with Sky Q as long as possible.
The sky Pucks are glitchy and sky stream as a service is lacking.

Sky Q works very well especially as a multi room service over other ISPs.

Long live sky Q 🤞
I wasn’t a Sky customer before in the UK, I was in Ireland around 2016-2018, the box was that old huge bulky one and the UI wasn’t that good. I tried Sky stream here and I haven’t cancelled, it can be sluggish at times (not really), but is 1000x better than the Samsung smart TV UI I was using before, supports all popular apps, and I can’t tell too much difference between it and Sky Sat in IE.

It’s annoying that my phone buzzes before I see the goal on TV, but they’ll fix it at some point. Some interesting developments are happening in this space, it’s within their best interest to implement them because while benefiting the consumer with less latency, it benefits Sky with less costs.

Can’t fault in, really not sure I’d prefer having someone strap a dish to my house and run a cable to the incredibly awkward place my TV is in. The puck does a lot for its size, I wish they’d make a bigger version though so I could record.

It’s like the iPhone of TV streaming boxes, a bit restricted and expensive but just usually works. That applies to Sky Q and Sky Stream though.
 
I’ll stick with Sky Q as long as possible.
The sky Pucks are glitchy and sky stream as a service is lacking.

Sky Q works very well especially as a multi room service over other ISPs.

Long live sky Q 🤞
Am coming to the same conclusion. Didn't have Sky for awhile, let my Dad have for a couple of years at his house. Tried few different alternatives, with Sky go at mine.

Cannot find a freeview box with all the apps supported.
Cannot find a freesat box with all the apps supported.
Got a Freeview streaming box, sits on network and can record using a NAS, then watch using an app anywhere on home network. Tried with Amazon Sticks and Apple TV, so could have Freeview and streaming apps all on one box. In the end came back to Sky Q. Not tried Sky Stream, but prefer to watch live tv not streamed.

Observations, live sport (in particular football) is better to watch via dish, than Sky go or Now tv. Like having apps, recordings and live tv all through the one box. Prefer being able to record programes rather relying on catchup services. To watch an extended (3 episode) story of NCIS, started on Disney+, the next episode was on NCIS Hawai - luckily still on Disney+, but the final episode was NCIS Los Angeles - not on Disney+. Lucky I could get via Sky Catchup.

Sky Q running on Plusnet FTTP 300Mbps down and 50mbps up for now. Sky running out in May (once lest option - multiroom comes to an end), but Plusnet contracted to June 2025.

So will stay Sky Q as long as can - but then don't think there will be the offers like once was - instead they'll be saved for Sky Stream / Glass (just from looking around the website).
 
Am coming to the same conclusion. Didn't have Sky for awhile, let my Dad have for a couple of years at his house. Tried few different alternatives, with Sky go at mine.

Cannot find a freeview box with all the apps supported.
Cannot find a freesat box with all the apps supported.
Got a Freeview streaming box, sits on network and can record using a NAS, then watch using an app anywhere on home network. Tried with Amazon Sticks and Apple TV, so could have Freeview and streaming apps all on one box. In the end came back to Sky Q. Not tried Sky Stream, but prefer to watch live tv not streamed.

Observations, live sport (in particular football) is better to watch via dish, than Sky go or Now tv. Like having apps, recordings and live tv all through the one box. Prefer being able to record programes rather relying on catchup services. To watch an extended (3 episode) story of NCIS, started on Disney+, the next episode was on NCIS Hawai - luckily still on Disney+, but the final episode was NCIS Los Angeles - not on Disney+. Lucky I could get via Sky Catchup.

Sky Q running on Plusnet FTTP 300Mbps down and 50mbps up for now. Sky running out in May (once lest option - multiroom comes to an end), but Plusnet contracted to June 2025.

So will stay Sky Q as long as can - but then don't think there will be the offers like once was - instead they'll be saved for Sky Stream / Glass (just from looking around the website).
I guess we are a dying breed. The new generations are all cord cutters and don’t appreciate recording features since they want things ASAP so they prefer mobile/on the go streaming. Also this means quality not an issue, 4K HDR what’s that? Who has money for a large TV with those standards? As we speak I’m watching Man City vs United in 4K UDR in my 65” OLED TV which I missed live as I was out but recorded on my VM TiVo box. No streaming solution I am aware of provides that quality and replay capability allowing to jump to any point in time and skip ads. I may be a dying bread but I will not settle for less features/quality. I rather not pay for low quality product.
 
Sponsored Links
I guess we are a dying breed. The new generations are all cord cutters and don’t appreciate recording features since they want things ASAP so they prefer mobile/on the go streaming. Also this means quality not an issue, 4K HDR what’s that? Who has money for a large TV with those standards? As we speak I’m watching Man City vs United in 4K UDR in my 65” OLED TV which I missed live as I was out but recorded on my VM TiVo box. No streaming solution I am aware of provides that quality and replay capability allowing to jump to any point in time and skip ads. I may be a dying bread but I will not settle for less features/quality. I rather not pay for low quality product.
It's rare but it does exist being able to stream in 4K with replays and catch up avaliable

Sky and Virgin are going to remain far superior in terms of user experience and quality overall but that's to be expected with the price that is paid for it
 
It's rare but it does exist being able to stream in 4K with replays and catch up avaliable

Sky and Virgin are going to remain far superior in terms of user experience and quality overall but that's to be expected with the price that is paid for it
It isn’t about the price. At least for me. The issue is that even though it’s technically possible to provide a 4K HDR streaming service with replays and catchups it isn’t there. So it’s almost like the only model they are interested is in the streaming. Mind you Sky’s streaming offering costs almost as much as Q’s without a lot of features.
 
1716073189117_485.jpg

Sky Stream 5 minutes behind some pirate website

Classic
 
1716073189117_485.jpg

Sky Stream 5 minutes behind some pirate website

Classic
Yep, this is a good point about streaming live sports, the delay
Remember years ago being outside working on a car at a friend's house round the corner from Fratton Park. Heard from the ground Portsmouth score. Then the radio. Then just enough time to get inside to see the goal "live" on cable TV.
Just renewed with Sky Q for another 18 months. Saving £30 a month. 31 day cooling off period. Still can't help thinking it's alot of money...
 
Yep, this is a good point about streaming live sports, the delay
Remember years ago being outside working on a car at a friend's house round the corner from Fratton Park. Heard from the ground Portsmouth score. Then the radio. Then just enough time to get inside to see the goal "live" on cable TV.
Just renewed with Sky Q for another 18 months. Saving £30 a month. 31 day cooling off period. Still can't help thinking it's alot of money...
Streaming at least for me the delay is 19-25 seconds behind Satellite depending on which version of a channel I'm watching which I think is pretty reasonable other websites and services I have seen delays go well over 2 minutes as well

I have seen Sky and Virgin Stream are about 30 seconds on average but have seen them occasionally have well over a minute delay as well

Never going to beat Satellite in terms of delay but you can get pretty close with the right setup
 
Sponsored Links
I have Sky Q and I record the whole of NFL games in the early hours. I believe Sky don't have the rights to show them again, only highlights. If Sky wind down Q for Stream that will scupper that.
 
It is said that by 2030, the primary method of ingesting television is going to be via IP, i.e. over the internet. I'd be more than happy to move to full IP Sky, not that bothered about having the dish as long as the service is good enough. 4K can be streamed effectively over FTTC even. I took the opportunity to remove the freeview aerial off the house when I had Starlink put up - it will be likely that when Starlink comes down, I'll time it such that I'll move to Sky Stream and will the Sky dish off the house as well.
Ironically this all happened by April, so there's now no longer any dishes on my house at all! Having now got Sky Stream, it's generally pretty good, but ITVX and such is available on mostly any smart TV or nVidia shield etc...
 
Top
Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £22.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Vodafone UK ISP Logo
Vodafone £24.00 - 26.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
NOW UK ISP Logo
NOW £24.00
100Mbps
Gift: None
Plusnet UK ISP Logo
Plusnet £25.99
145Mbps
Gift: £50 Reward Card
Large Availability | View All
Cheapest ISPs for 100Mbps+
Gigaclear UK ISP Logo
Gigaclear £17.00
200Mbps
Gift: None
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £22.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Hey! Broadband UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Youfibre UK ISP Logo
Youfibre £23.99
150Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Sponsored Links
The Top 15 Category Tags
  1. FTTP (6024)
  2. BT (3638)
  3. Politics (2720)
  4. Business (2439)
  5. Openreach (2405)
  6. Building Digital UK (2330)
  7. Mobile Broadband (2143)
  8. FTTC (2083)
  9. Statistics (1899)
  10. 4G (1813)
  11. Virgin Media (1762)
  12. Ofcom Regulation (1582)
  13. Fibre Optic (1467)
  14. Wireless Internet (1462)
  15. 5G (1404)
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms  ,  Privacy and Cookie Policy  ,  Links  ,  Website Rules