U.K. residents subscribing to Sky TV have a bit of good news for 2018. Sky announced today that it is ditching the satellite. Instead, the company will offer its TV services streaming completely online.
The BBC reports that Sky is responding to increasing pressure from streaming video services. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and others continue to grow at a more rapid pace than Sky TV.
According to Sky, customers unable to install a satellite dish will also benefit. As customers will only need to have a Sky box, anyone in Sky’s service area will be able to stream their content online. That includes both live TV and on-demand video options.
Sky TV’s Digital Streaming Future
Consumers in the UK and elsewhere can already enjoy some Sky content without a satellite. The company’s Now TV service was created to help compete against SVODs like Netflix. The service offers multiple packages, from entertainment to sports, allowing users to enjoy a curated Sky content experience.
And while the company’s newest Sky Q box still requires the satellite to work, it also lets users enjoy recorded shows on other devices. Additionally, the Sky Q box wirelessly broadcasts content to other devices in your home.
Sky appears to be addressing the growing cord-cutter demand for streaming content. Yet it may take longer than a year for Sky to completely transition away from satellites for all customers.
According to BARB, Sky was in just under 9% of UK households in Q3 2017. Netflix surpassed Sky TV’s market share in the UK a few years ago. As of 2016, Netflix was in 24% of UK households.
Sam Cook is a full-time content strategist by day, a part-time freelance content writer since 2015. In another life, he was a high school English teacher for nearly a decade. Based in sunny New Orleans, he writes long-form educational content on technology, including Insurtech, Fintech, HRtech, and content streaming. He loves whittling down complex ideas within these areas that make decisions easier for buyers. When he’s not reading books with his son Miles and playing video games with the family, you can find him immersed in his growing collection of Euro-style board games.
