Sky has this morning confirmed that the planned removal of US news channel NBC News Now on Sky Q and Sky+HD will now not go ahead.
- Platform operator had previously announced the channel would be removed on the 21st November 2023.
- Under the original plans, the channel would have continued on Sky Stream and Sky Glass only.
Sky satellite subscribers will continue to receive NBC News Now for the time being after Sky U-turned on a previous announcement.
The US news channel, which first joined Sky last year was due to be removed from Sky channel 521 on Tuesday morning.
No reason for the change in heart, announced just hours before the channel was due to be deleted, was given.
NBC News Now is part of Comcast, Sky’s parent company.
The channel is an encrypted HD-only service via satellite. It broadcasts rolling news from the USA from 12 midday UK time through into the night, Monday to Friday. During the mornings, the channel re-runs the NBC Nightly News and episodes of Dateline NBC. It has recently introduced simulcasts of Sky News. At the weekends, the channel screens pre-recorded content, including time-delayed showings of Today and Meet The Press.
The channel is available for free via Samsung TV Plus and YouTube. It is also distributed on Virgin Media, Sky Stream and Sky Glass in the UK. It is not carried on Sky in Ireland, as it does not currently hold an EU broadcasting licence.
Other scheduled changes on Sky satellite are still set to go ahead this week. This includes changes to Horror Xtra, CBS Reality and Reality Xtra, which become Legend Xtra, True Crime and True Crime Xtra on Wednesday. Meanwhile, That’s 80s will be replaced by ‘Best Xmas Music’.