Sky Glass and Sky Stream viewers in the UK now have access to an additional 11 channels that are exclusive to streaming platforms.
- Sky’s streaming-only channels, first launched last year, are now integrated in the main TV guide.
- Additional third-party channels now also available.
A year after first launching a new range of streaming-only channels to viewers in the UK, Sky has now fully integrated them into its Sky Glass and Sky Stream TV guide.
Viewers can now access 11 extra channels on Sky Glass and Stream, starting from channel 1001, in a brand-new section of the TV guide with its own number range.
Services including Sky Sports Stories and Sky Artist of the Year first became available last July on Glass and Stream devices in the UK via the Xumo Play app. At the time of the launch, Sky indicated the channels would become fully integrated “later” that year. It’s actually now taken a full year for the services to become available on the main channel list, saving viewers from having to find them in a separate app.
Sky’s own streaming services are joined by third-party channels including Great British Menu and Homes Under The Hammer. NBC News Now also makes a return to the main channel list after its removal at the end of 2023.
List of streaming-only channels on Sky Glass/Sky Stream in the UK
- 1001: Sky Sports Classics
- 1002: Sky Sports Vault
- 1003: Sky Sports Stories
- 1004: Pick
- 1005: Emergency 24/7
- 1006: Sky Artist of the Year
- 1020: NBC News NOW
- 1021: Billiards
- 1022: Great British Menu
- 1023: Homes Under The Hammer
- 1024: Crime and Justice
These channels are not available to Sky subscribers in the Republic of Ireland.
What’s the difference between these and ‘normal’ channels?
These channels were either created specifically for streaming services or converted from a traditional broadcast channel to a streaming-only.
The media industry calls them ‘FAST channels’. FAST stands for free, ad-supported streaming channels. That means you don’t pay for them from your TV subscription. All of the above channels can be found for free elsewhere.
Most frequently, streaming channels are focused on a very specific genre or programme.
What makes them particularly stand out is the ad-breaks.
These breaks are designed to allow personalised or localised adverts to be inserted. Where no adverts are shown, you’ll often see a timer counting down to when programmes resume.
Many, but not all of the streaming channels, have rather weird schedules, with programmes starting or ending at odd times – think of programmes starting at 10:17pm or ending at 11:41pm.
FAST channels can’t be recorded like traditional TV (although this is a moot point with Sky Glass/Sky Stream, as you can’t record traditional TV channels either).
Additionally, streaming channels are more prone to be removed without notice. As operators can measure viewership in ways that aren’t possible on traditional broadcast platforms, they can quickly remove or replace services.
Circumventing Ofcom regulation
While some streaming-only channels do hold Ofcom licences (notably those that are distributed on Virgin Media’s TV guide), the move means Sky Glass and Stream viewers can access services that are not subject to normal regulatory scrutiny.
NBC News Now first arrived on Sky in 2022, subsequently also going live on Virgin Media. The channel was subsequently withdrawn from traditional broadcast platforms. Its Ofcom licence was then surrendered.
Since then, the channel has been available in the UK exclusively via streaming services and apps including YouTube and Samsung TV Plus, falling outside of Ofcom’s jurisdiction.
Its return on Sky Glass and Sky Stream devices introduces a news channel to the line-up that currently is exempt from Ofcom’s rules on election coverage, among other things.
For example, when polling stations are open, all traditionally licenced channels have to abide by strict rules. Coverage of the elections and the issues raised in the campaign is then restricted until the stroke of 10pm, when exit polls are published.
Not the first platform to add full streaming channels
Virgin Media began to fully integrate a selection of streaming channels back in 2023, becoming the first UK TV platform to combine traditional broadcast and streaming-only services side-by-side in the channel guide.
RXTV understands Virgin Media is planning to add some of Sky’s streaming services to its own TV service.
Freeview has offered hybrid streaming channels on its service since 2011, but it’s only recently taken off. You’ll find them above channel 250 in the guide. Unlike full streaming services, Freeview’s streaming offer is in fact a hybrid solution. You need a terrestrial TV signal to receive the app that directs the TV to the relevant stream. This is fundamentally different to full streaming services which don’t rely on a terrestrial or satellite TV signal to work.
Freely has promised to add its own exclusive streaming channels. Its new streaming-only channels will be supplied from ITV, Channel 4 and 5. They’re due to arrive soon.
If you’ve got a Samsung Smart TV, then the above channels have been part of Samsung TV Plus since last September.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: Sky