A TV expert believes it’s “unlikely” Sky will ever release a new satellite product.
It’s nine years since Sky Q was released as a replacement for Sky+ HD.
Sky’s contract with major satellite operator runs until 2029[/caption]
In recent years, Sky has largely focused on streaming with Sky Glass[/caption]
Since then, the broadcasting giant has focused much of its efforts on streaming-based TV.
Sky Glass, launched in October 2021, beams live TV into your home via the internet instead of satellite.
There’s no box – everything is built into the Sky Glass TV.
Since then, there’s been a Sky Stream box which allows you to get the same Sky Glass experience on any TV set.
And last month saw the release of an updated Sky Glass – dubbed the gen 2 – dashing hopes among satellite loyalists of a Sky Q replacement.
At the launch, Sky bosses assured that Q will “be with us for a while” yet.
But looking at Sky’s website and it’s hard to find any mention of the product.
Paolo Pescatore, an expert for PP Foresight, told The Sun it is “highly unlikely” Sky will ever release a new satellite box “given the investment and timescales with the TV switch off that’s around the corner”.
Last year, Sky signed a contract extension with satellite operator SES that takes the service up to 2029.
Sky Q’s biggest difference is its ability to record on a box, whereas on Sky Glass it’s recorded to the cloud.
This means on Sky Q you will always have something to watch if there’s ever an outage.
And a limited number of programmes and movies can’t be recorded to the cloud because of rights issues – whereas on Sky Q you can record what you want.
The upside of Sky Glass and Sky Stream recording is that there is no storage limit unlike Sky Q.
“Ultimately Sky would prefer to migrate all users onto its IP based products which in turn will lead to the end of Sky Q,” Paolo said.
“It is reliable, robust and serves customers needs.
“They do not want to buy another telly with Sky inside for now.”
MY THOUGHTS ON SKY GLASS GEN 2
By Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
Sky Glass Gen 2 successfully improves from the previous model in three key areas: visuals, audio and set-up (I can’t tell you enough how much easier it is to assemble that stand plate).
The same wonderfully easy user interface continues to get better and better – not to mention Sky’s unmatched content.
But it’s really not necessary or enough for users of the first Sky Glass to upgrade to this new model.
Instead, this is very much aimed at those new to Sky Glass.
I can’t see many Sky Q subscribers being swayed due to the recording storage differences, among other things.
Make no mistake – while Sky has assured that it is still committed to Sky Q, streaming is very much the future and will get the lion’s share of new features in the years to come.
On the possibility of Sky having to extend its satellite contract again, he added: “It all depends on the success of migrating customers onto Sky OS and how quickly.
“For now it looks it will have to renew, but expect to see a plethora of punchy deals seeking to sway customers.”
Sky Q is still receiving some new features and updates.
Just recently, the box finally received access to Channel 5’s streaming app My5.
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