UPDATED | Sky will no longer offer UK subscribers standard definition versions of its sports channels, while four more Sky Cinema SD channels close in both the UK and Ireland.
- Sky Sports in the UK will be HD only from Wednesday 29th May, excluding two channels for now.
- Sky Cinema continues HD shift in second batch of channel closures
- Changes to other Sky channels expected to occur soon.
Sky Sports changes
The satellite TV operator will close 10 standard definition (SD) sports channels in the UK on Wednesday 29th May 2024 as part of a major move to reduce satellite capacity and move all satellite sports viewers to HD.
However, the impact will be limited as Sky has for some time offered Sky Sports in HD as standard – unlike for some other channels, where you have to pay extra for HD. As a result, for most viewers the channels will just appear once on the channel list – in HD only.
- 401 Sky Sports Main Event – SD version closes.
- 402 Sky Sports Premier League – SD version closes
- 403 Sky Sports Football – SD version closes.
- 404 Sky Sports Cricket – SD version closes.
- 405 Sky Sports Golf – SD version closes.
- 406 Sky Sports F1 – SD version closes.
- 408 Sky Sports Action – SD version closes.
- 409 Sky Sports News (See update below)
- 410 Sky Sports Arena – SD version closes.
- 416 Sky Sports Mix (See update below)
- 418 MUTV – SD version closes.
- 491 Sky Sports Box Office – SD version of the part-time service closes (Also affects Republic of Ireland). HD version moves to 491.
Sky Sports Tennis on channel 407 was launched earlier this year without a standard definition version, so isn’t affected by the changes. Sky Sports Main Event and F1 are also available in UHD.
How will you be affected?
Viewers still using an older first-generation Sky or Sky+ box will cease to be able to watch Sky Sports in the UK via satellite.
The secondary listings of these channels between channel 859-875 on the Sky satellite channel list will cease. These are HD/SD swap channels.
The above changes, with the exception of the closure of Sky Sports Box Office in SD, do not affect the Republic of Ireland, where Sky will continue to offer sports in SD for now.
Sky Cinema changes
In both the UK and Republic of Ireland, Sky will also close four of its SD movie channels on Wednesday 29th May. This continues a process that first started back in 2022 when three Sky Cinema SD channels (Comedy, Drama and Thriller) were closed.
- 301 Sky Cinema Premiere – SD version closes.
- 304 Sky Cinema Greats – SD version closes.
- 306 Sky Cinema Family – SD version closes.
- 307 Sky Cinema Action – SD version closes.
Sky Cinema, like Sky Sports offers access to the HD copies of the channels as standard. Therefore, only viewers using older first-generation Sky equipment will lose channels.
However, following recent closures of SD channels by the BBC and ITV in the UK and the removal of the main Irish channels by Sky in the Republic of Ireland, it’s unlikely that there are many users left still using an old first-generation Sky receiver. HD/SD swap copies of the channels 848-851 will be deleted.
More changes to come
The reduction of SD channels on Sky is part of a wider reorganisation of the pay TV company’s satellite capacity.
But Sky will continue to offer some channels in SD, notably those channels that cost extra if you want to view them in HD. Examples include Sky Atlantic and Sky Showcase.
However, Sky is currently testing a version of Sky Atlantic SD that will only be receivable on an HD receiver. The test transmission, on Astra 2E transponder 20 (12090V) paves the way for Sky to continue to offer a cheaper SD-only Entertainment subscription offer for Sky+HD and Sky Q users only. In turn, this indicates Sky will continue to charge extra for some HD entertainment channels, although this charge does not apply to free-to-air entertainment channels like Sky Mix and ITV4 (which are HD only on satellite).
Incidentally, Sky offers all of its channels in HD by default on Sky Glass and Sky Stream.
Update
Sky has confirmed that Sky Sports News SD and Sky Sports Mix SD will remain available in the UK for the time being. This is because these channels are still offered as part of the Sky Signature pack, which charges viewers extra to access HD.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: RXTV composite, logos: Sky | Update 29/05/2024