The Sky Q receiver is, at least for the linear reception of the pay TV station, the receiver that customers have been getting for some time to receive via cable and satellite. Sky Q is already accessing on-demand content via the Internet. Apparently they are now going a step further.
Sky has invited media representatives to a product presentation for the coming week. It is about ” Sky Q over the Internet”. The product, in addition to which little more than this information emerges from the invitation, is part of the Sky innovation campaign. Sky itself describes the new solution as a further milestone for Sky.
It remains to be seen what exactly Sky Q over the Internet is all about. Various options are conceivable. With the Sky Q Mini, Sky already offers the TV reception of Sky’s linear TV channels as a video stream. This is intended as a second Sky receiver for the bedroom, for example. Compared to the large Sky Q, however, the user has to make compromises: recordings are not possible and UHD content is also not available.
SKY OVER THE INTERNET INSTEAD OF SATELLITE & CABLE?
It is possible that Sky is now planning to relocate the streaming options and thus the linear reception of the Sky channels to the Internet and also to offer them for the large Sky-Q receiver . This could be done either for all Sky channels or for niche channels. The advantage for Sky: The often high costs of broadcasting TV channels via satellite and cable are eliminated. However, the service providers that Sky uses to distribute streams also want to be paid. But especially when it comes to channels like the Sky Nature and Sky Documentaries announced for September , which are due to start on September 9, such a distribution would be conceivable.
However, it is unlikely that Sky will completely limit its distribution via cable and satellite. The broadband networks are still not fully developed and too many Sky customers would be offended. In addition, problems are likely to arise more frequently, especially during sports events. The streaming platforms Sky Go (streaming on the go for pay-TV customers) and Sky Ticket (streaming based on the Netflix principle) had often proven to be unstable in recent years .
SKY Q AS AN APP?
It is also conceivable that Sky will virtually virtualize the functions of Sky Q and pack
them into a Sky Q app, which can then be used on various platforms. That would also mean that recordings in the cloud would be possible and all channels would be accessed via stream. That would make sense in view of the possibility of cable reception, which will soon end, within the framework of the ancillary costs. Sky customers could then, for example, watch the Sky channels via an app on the smart TV using a smart TV app. Such a Sky Q app is already available for Samsung TV – but without recordings.
In addition to Sky Q via the Internet, Sky will also announce a new partnership “which will make the TV experience on the world’s leading all-in-one platform Sky Q even better”. We at inside digital will be reporting on the event for you next week.
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