Sky uk end service 2027 or 2028

[dankargo]

I just really feel weird at the thought of using IP as the main means of watching live telly. Its always been my back up solution at best as it's so inferior to both satellite and terrestrial. I know its cheaper for the likes of Sky but not so much for the consumer. Convenient yes but when you weigh up that you need to be paying a monthly internet connection on top of the service. Guess that's more valid in relation to Freely and the closure of Freeview though, how free is free when you need to pay for the broadband? Way more expensive then plugging in a cheap aerial.

 

[Paolo71]

But isn't It too risky for a pay tv with so many subscribers to rely on a MEV mission or a single satellite with no backup?
In my opinion, Sky would require at least two new satellites at 28.2 E to renew its contract with SES.

At 28.2°E there are 3 satellites at the same position, so if 1 or 2 fail, there are up to 2 more to cover the signals, moreover each satellite ( as usual ) doesn't use all the TXPs aboard, but there are more TXPs backup switched off that can be used in case of emergency. As at 28.2°E, the same happens at 13°E, 19.2°E and 7°E.

 

[Channel Hopper]

But thats the point - Sky have plans to wind down the satellite service & move everyone over to iptv delivery. They wont need 30 or 40 transponders a few years from now. No doubt channels will start being cut from the satellite service to ahem persuade people to start moving over. Just like they did when Sky analogue was being run down.

How is Sky Glass faring ?

 

[Analoguesat]

How is Sky Glass faring ?

WEll seeing as how 75% of new installs are the IPTV service & Sky have only just this week or so announced they are laying off over 1000 satellite installation guys I suspect it must be doing nicely.

 

[Nalleman]

It will be interesting to see which of the major European orbital slots is the first to be abandoned. Id hazard a guess 13E is safe for the time being as it serves such a large area, & 5E as it serves rural parts of Africa.


But 16E 19E & 28E & probably 30W have to all be vulnerable in the next decade or so as ip delivery of tv increases.

I would say 19 E with two new satellites ordered and 1 W are pretty safe as is 13 E.

I would certainly miss 28 E and what's there but the German channels at 19 E and Tivusat at 13 E offers what I need.

German channels via satellite are actually added regularly quite opposite to UK ones which are closed.
Last year Highview launched a package now containing 13 good channels. All in German of course but FTA.
What the future holds remains to be seen...

 

[Analoguesat]

Satellites can be redeployed elsewhere easily enough........

 

[solly]

Plus of course with SD transmissions being turned off in favour of HD the transponder loading requirements are dropping steadily.

A quick look at 28E frequencies:

Home - FlySat Satellite Chart

Follow the digital satellite frequencies on our daily updated site.

flysat.com

shows well over a dozen transponders out of service at the current time. That number will only increase over the next couple of years.

Any plan uhd after sd close ?

 

[Analoguesat]

Any plan uhd after sd close ?

Not that we know of. The broadcasters seem to prefer to deliver UHD content via streaming.

 

[ozumo]

WEll seeing as how 75% of new installs are the IPTV service & Sky have only just this week or so announced they are laying off over 1000 satellite installation guys I suspect it must be doing nicely.

Not surprising given how little visibility is given to Sky Q on the Sky website and the hard sell they give Stream and Glass when contacted by phone.

The interesting figures would be how many existing satellite customers have 'upgraded' to Stream/Glass and how many have since reverted to Sky Q, as well as the churn rate.

I say 'upgraded' as that is how it appears it is being sold to some existing customers, yet when they complain on the official Sky support forum they get told 'it's not an upgrade but a different service' and 'it's your own fault as you should have done your own research and not believe the sales staff'

 

[Analoguesat]

Pushing of ip services is everywhere these days. The C4 streaming service has a prominent banner on it pushing viewers to upgrade to 4+ with no ads. 4+ is of course a paid for premium service.......

 

[Captain Jack]

Ghad, I'll be clinging on to the last available satellite channel, even if it means learning German. IPTV is unreliable at best though I do see the attraction of its alleged convenience. Until ALL of the UK has a fast, stable Internet connection, I don't see Sky disappearing from our skies just yet...

 

[mapperuo]

Wont most Sky Glass customers still be in their initial 18 month contract anyway, will be interesting to see how many renew or not.

 

[cokeaddict]

Wont most Sky Glass customers still be in their initial 18 month contract anyway, will be interesting to see how many renew or not.

The problem with Glass is, if you don't renew, you have to buy a new tv as it becomes all but useless otherwise.

 

[dvdfilm]

Satellites can be redeployed elsewhere easily enough........

Yes, but which ones could SES redeploy at 28 E if no replacement is commissioned? The current Astra 1 satellites at 19E, soon to be replaced, are even older than those at 28 E

 

[ozumo]

Yes, but which ones could SES redeploy at 28 E if no replacement is commissioned? The current Astra 1 satellites at 19E, soon to be replaced, are even older than those at 28 E

Here's one option from an Astra press release:

"the fully flexible ASTRA 1Q is customisable on orbit and can be deployed easily to other orbital positions, enabling SES to serve the dynamic needs of its video and data customers well into the future".

SES Orders Two State-of-the-Art Satellites for its Prime TV Neighbourhood Serving 118 Million Homes

Two satellites at 19.2 degrees East will enable SES’s major European broadcasters’ content distribution operations as well as deliver connectivity services over Europe.

www.ses.com

 

[ozumo]

The problem with Glass is, if you don't renew, you have to buy a new tv as it becomes all but useless otherwise.

When disconnected from the internet it acts like a basic TV with DVB-T and HDMI inputs. If it's online DVB-T disappears but instead you can use the installed 3rd party apps though I believe you still have to be logged in to a Sky account (no subscription required).

 

[cokeaddict]

When disconnected from the internet it acts like a basic TV with DVB-T and HDMI inputs. If it's online DVB-T disappears but instead you can use the installed 3rd party apps though I believe you still have to be logged in to a Sky account (no subscription required).

Ok not completely useless then, I thought that dvb-t was completely disabled on it.

 

[PaulR]

When disconnected from the internet it acts like a basic TV with DVB-T ...

Not T2 so no HD channels?

 

[ozumo]

Not T2 so no HD channels?

Oops I should have said DVB-T2 or DTT, I said DVB-T instead of Freeview as I seem to remember reading it doesn't have the 7-day Freeview EPG.

 

[Paolo71]

The problem with Glass is, if you don't renew, you have to buy a new tv as it becomes all but useless otherwise.

Sky Glass (the same in Italy) is the worst thing that Sky (or any other provider) could propose for customers, something "closed" to only Sky and useless out of the subscrption ! Just expensive trash..... and low quality.