History
Origins
The present service can trace its heritage back to 1990, when BSkyB's predecessors Sky Television andPremier League football
In the autumn of 1991, talks were held for the broadcast rights forSky Multichannels
In September 1993, BSkyB launchedLaunch of Sky Digital
BSkyB's digital service was officially launched on 1 October 1998 under the name Sky Digital, although small-scale tests were carried out before then. At this time the use of the Sky Digital brand made an important distinction between the new service and Sky's analogue services. Key selling points were the improvement in picture and sound quality, increased number of channels and an interactive service branded Open...., later called2010s
Sky's direct-to-home satellite service became available in 10 million homes in 2010, Europe's first pay-TV platform to achieve that milestone. Confirming it had reached its target, the broadcaster said its reach into 36% of households in the UK represented an audience of more than 25m people. The target was first announced in August 2004, and since then an additional 2.4m customers had subscribed to Sky's direct-to-home service. Media commentators had debated whether the figure could be reached as the growth in subscriber numbers elsewhere in Europe flattened. In December, the UK's parliament heard a claim that a subscription to Sky was 'often damaging' to welfare recipients, along with alcohol, tobacco and gambling.2020s
On 17 September 2020, Sky Arts became the first premium Sky channel to become available on the free to air terrestrial Freeview service, joining Sky News and a couple of channels which trace their linage back toServices
Digital terrestrial television
Sky initially faced competition from theVideo on demand
Sky initially faced increased competition from telecommunications providers to deliver pay television services over existing telephone lines usingSky Go
Sky Go is provided free of charge for Sky (satellite TV) subscribers and allows them to watch channels live and on-demand through an internet connection on a computer or mobile device. On 29 May 2009, it was confirmed thatSky Broadband
On 1 March 2013, it was announced that Sky would buy O2's and Be's broadband services fromSky Mobile
On 21 October 2016, it was announced that public pre-registration for Sky's new mobile network, Sky Mobile, would take place from 31 October 2016. The network will operate as a FullSky Talk
Sky Talk is a fixed-line telephone service, with options for pay-as-you-go or bundled call minutes.Sky Store
Sky Store has a library of films from Sky Cinema that can be rented or bought, either via an app or physical DVD/Blu-ray copies by post. Sky Store is available on Sky Q boxes as well as through apps on devices such as computers and mobile devices. It is available to anyone with a compatible device and does not require a Sky TV subscription.NOW
An over-the-top contract-free television service from Sky. The service is provided on a NOW device or through an app on selected computers, mobile devices, set-top boxes and smart TVs. NOW is separate from the core Sky TV service.Products
Sky Digibox
Sky launched with a set-top box known as the Sky Digibox, using the Slogans ''"What do you want to watch?", "Entertainment your way"'' and the current slogan ''"Believe in Better"''.''Believe in Better''Sky+
Sky initially charged an additional subscription fee for using a Sky+ PVR with their service; waiving the charge for subscribers whose package included two or more premium channels. This changed as of 1 July 2007, and now customers that subscribe to any Sky package have Sky+ included at no extra charge. Customers that do not subscribe to Sky's channels can still pay a monthly fee to enable Sky+ functions. In September 2007, Sky launched a new TV advertising campaign targeting Sky+ at women. As of 31 March 2008, Sky had 3,393,000 Sky+ users. In January 2010 Sky discontinued the Sky+ Box, limited the standard Sky Box to Multiroom upgrade only and started to issue the Sky+ HD Box as standard, thus giving all new subscribers the functions of Sky+. In February 2011 Sky discontinued the non-HD variant of its Multiroom box, offering a smaller version of the SkyHD box without Sky+ functionality.Sky+ HD
Sky launched itsSky 3D
Sky began to broadcast programmes in 3D in April 2010. This included new 3D channels, including a ''Sky Sports 3D'' and ''Sky Movies 3D''. Sky previously experimented with 3D broadcasting by broadcasting an Arsenal vs Manchester Unitedfootball game live in 3D in nine pubs situated throughout the United Kingdom.Sky Q
On 18 November 2015, Sky announced4K UHD
The Sky Q 2TB set-top box is capable of receiving and displayingSky Glass
On 7 October 2021, Sky announced an in-houseSky Stream
On 27 September 2022, Sky announced a new streaming box called Sky Stream, which launched on 18 October 2022.Television channels
Sky, and its sister companies, operate a number of channels in the UK and Ireland with some being joint ventures with other companies: Entertainment *Marketing
Sky (formerly marketed as Sky Digital) is the brand name for Sky plc's United Kingdom digitalBroadcasting
Transmission
When Sky Digital was launched in 1998 the new service used theLow-noise block converter
Provided is a universal Ku band LNB (9.75/10.600 GHz) which is fitted at the end of the dish and pointed at the correct satellite constellation; most digital receivers will receive the free to air channels. Some broadcasts are free-to-air and unencrypted, some are encrypted but do not require a monthly subscription (known as free-to-view), some are encrypted and require a monthly subscription, and some are pay-per-view services. To view the encrypted content aStandard definition broadcasts
Sky's standard definition broadcasts are inDigital satellite receivers
Sky utilises theElectronic programme guide
Technology
Sky maintains anNumbering system
The EPG numbering is altered frequently when new channels launch or receive new numbers. A few times, the EPG has been substantially altered. For example: *In early 2006, most channels received new numbering. This shake-up was intended to split up the original ten categories into sixteen. For example, several channels that had been listed under the 'Entertainment' category were split off into a new 'Lifestyle & Culture' category while the 'News & Documentaries' category was split into two. The 'Specialist' category, which had included shopping, dating, gambling, and international and adult channels was split into several genres. *Following the integration ofCompetition
On 12 July 2011, former Prime Minister"Mr James Murdoch, which included his cold assertion that profit, not standards were what mattered in the media, underpinned an ever more aggressive News International and Sky agenda under his and Mrs Brooks' leadership that was brutal in its simplicity. Their aim was to cut the BBC licence fee, to force BBC online to charge for its content, for the BBC to sell off its commercial activities, to open up more national sporting events to bids from Sky and move them away from the BBC, to open up the cable and satellite infrastructure market, and to reduce the power of their regulator, Ofcom. I rejected those policies."On 13 July 2011, MP
Hansard: 13 July 2011 – Column 400
"The company has lots of technological innovation that only a robust entrepreneur could bring to British society, but it has also often been profoundly anti-competitive. I believe that the bundling of channels so as to increase profit and make it impossible for others to participate in the market is anti-competitive. I believe that the way in which the application programming interface—the operating system—has been used has been anti-competitive and that Sky has deliberately set about selling set-top boxes elsewhere, outside areas where they have proper rights. If one visits a flat in Spain where a British person lives, one finds that they mysteriously manage to have a Sky box there even though it is registered to a house in the United Kingdom."
Virgin Media dispute
Discovery Networks dispute
On 25 January 2017,Litigation
In July 2013, the EnglishCriticism and controversies
Awards and nominations
See also
*References
External links
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