Sky wants to become less dependent on cable and satellite distribution and is now making its entire pay-TV offer available in Austria through the new streaming service Sky X.
The OTT platform, which was unveiled in Vienna tonight, comprises all Sky channels, series, movies, live sports and selected free-to-air TV channels.
In addition to on-demand content, the Sky X app offers linear Sky channels such as Sky 1 HD, Sky Atlantic HD, Sky Arts HD, the Sky Cinema and Sky Sport channels as well as third-party channels from TV broadcasters such as Discovery, Turner, NBC Universal, Disney, National Geographic, Fox, Stingray, Spiegel TV, HighView and Mainstream Media.
Also available are free-to-air TV channels such as ORF, Servus TV, ARD, ZDF, RTL, Sat.1, ProSieben, VOX, RTL II, kabel eins and Eurosport 1.
Sky X is offered in three different package sizes costing between €19.99 and €34.99 per month; the subscription can be cancelled monthly. There is also a free 14-day trial. Viewers only wanting to stream the free-to-air channels can do so for €7.99 per month.
Access is possible via PC, laptop, Mac, iOS, Android, Playstation 4 and smart TV sets from Samsung and LG from model year 2015. Sky also offers a Sky X streaming box, which can be purchased for either €19.99 or €49.99, depending on the selected subscription package.
Sky recommends an internet data rate of at least 10Mbps for streaming HD content. Each subscriber can register up to four reception devices for Sky X; up to two parallel streams are possible. In the medium term, Sky X is to replace the existing, smaller streaming service Sky Ticket.
Broadband TV Views: With Sky X, Sky is testing a new form of access to its pay-TV service in the Netflix age. But that’s not all: By integrating free-to-air TV channels, the broadcaster intends to position the streaming platform as an alternative to TV reception via cable, satellite and IPTV, thereby taking the risk of getting in competition with its established distribution partners. No doubt: If the experiment is successful in Austria, it won’t take long for Sky to introduce the model in its other markets.
