A major shakeup is coming to sports streaming in the UK, as today Sky has announced the upcoming launch of Sky Sports+, a new upgrade designed to enhance its sports coverage.
Set to debut in August 2024, Sky Sports+ aims to provide subscribers with a wider range of streamed live events and improved features at no additional cost.
The service will be integrated into Sky’s existing platform (Sky Glass, Sky Stream, and Sky Q) and will also be available on Sky’s streaming platform NOW and as part of a new and improved Sky Sports mobile app.
Sky Sports+ will also be available for Virgin Media TV customers (with the Sky Sports subscription), and on EE TV via the NOW Sports membership.
With the capability to stream up to 100 live events simultaneously along with new, enhanced streaming features, and even a new linear channel with highlights from the Sports+ streaming service – Sky is aiming to transform its sports offering.
It’s worth noting that Sky Sports+ is not a separate new streaming service, but will instead be a streaming-based expansion of Sky Sports, on supported devices.
It’s also worth noting that Sky Sports’ linear channels aren’t going anywhere, and will remain available on all platforms – however, some events will only be available via the new Sky Sports+ service.
Expanded EFL Coverage
Sky Sports+’s launch coincides with a new partnership between Sky and the English Football League (EFL).
This partnership will result in the broadcasting of over 1,000 EFL games per season, with each team featured more than 20 times and every Championship club appearing on at least 24 occasions.
Every game from the Championship, League One, and League Two will be streamed live during the opening weekend of the 2024/25 season.
In total, Sky Sports+ will offer a significant increase in live sports coverage, with customers able to access 50% more live sports compared to the previous year.
The service will provide coverage of the men’s Super League, ATP and WTA tennis tours, US Open, PGA Tour, and more.
Through Sports+, users will also have early access to Sky’s sports documentaries, such as the forthcoming Darts documentary, two weeks before general release.
Jonathan Licht, Managing Director at Sky Sports, said: “For the first time, we will broadcast every game live from across the EFL on the opening weekend.
“It’s going to be a huge moment for football fans up and down the country and is a fitting way to kick off our ground-breaking new partnership with the EFL.”
Enhanced Features
The Sky Sports+ upgrade will introduce several new features aimed at improving the viewing experience.
Live pause and rewind functionality will be available on all concurrent streams, including – for the first time – on NOW.
The ‘Recap’ feature, currently available for Premier League and Championship games, will be extended to EFL games shown on the Sky Sports+ linear channel.
With the capability to broadcast up to 100 events concurrently, Sky Sports+ aims to vastly improve how fans engage with live sports, providing a breadth of coverage across multiple sports genres.
How Can I Get Sky Sports+?
The new Sky Sports+ upgrade will be available to Sky Sports subscribers at no additional cost starting from August 2024.
It will be available to customers with a full Sky Sports subscription across Sky’s various platforms, including Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Sky Q, and NOW.
Note that since Sky Sports+ is based on streaming – it won’t be available on Sky’s older boxes.
If you already have a Sky Sports subscription through Sky TV on one of the supported devices, you will automatically receive access to Sky Sports+ and its features starting in August 2024.
If you are not currently a Sky customer and wish to access Sky Sports+, you will need to subscribe to a Sky package that includes Sky Sports.
If you have a NOW Sports Membership (Day or Month), you will automatically gain access to Sky Sports+ content as well, including all live streams and on-demand catch-up content, when the service launches.
This launch comes at a time when Sky’s streaming service NOW recently increased its Sky Sports Day Pass price from £11.99 to £14.99, a move that has been met with mixed reactions from sports fans seeking flexible viewing options.
However, the introduction of Sky Sports+, will at least increase the value of the daily pass – if only for 24 hours at a time.
A Revamped Sky Sports Mobile App
Alongside the launch of Sky Sports+, Sky is also introducing a newly updated Sky Sports mobile app.
The app not only provides users with the latest sports news, live blogs, goal updates, and video highlights from the Premier League, Championship, and more but also offers a range of new features designed to bring fans closer to the action.
New Personalization Features
The updated Sky Sports app allows users to easily follow their favourite teams, stars, experts, and sports through a personalized “My Sky Sports” news feed.
The app’s homepage provides quick access to the content that matters most to each individual user, ensuring a tailored experience.
Refreshed Design and Navigation
The app has undergone a significant design overhaul, with a focus on accessibility. A much-requested dark mode has been implemented, along with improved navigation to make browsing and discovering content more intuitive.
The app also incorporates AI-driven recommendations to help users find new and relevant content.
Event Centers
The new Sky Sports app introduces “Event Centres,” which provide users with quick and easy access to live event streams and key moments, ensuring that fans never miss a big play or highlight from their favourite sporting events.
Enhanced Sports Data Experience
The app’s multi-sports section has been improved to offer consistent fixtures, live scores, and an extended view beyond the usual seven-day football calendar.
Sport-Specific Notifications
Users can now choose sport-specific notifications for the news alerts they want, ensuring they receive relevant updates without being overwhelmed by unnecessary notifications.
I used to watch live tennis tournaments on Amazon Prime for £5.99 a month. I now watch zero tennis since Sky took over with their vastly inflated prices. I only watch tennis. No other sports. So I really don’t want any of Sky’s blanket sports coverage. I’m looking forward to the French Open on Discovery+ for a reasonable price, and Wimbledon for free. Otherwise I just feel sad that Sky has commandeered all the ATP and WTA events.
Wonder if it will include subtitles on streaming content just like the broadcast on Sky Q?
Great stuff. Any information on whether there will be UHD available especially on Now Tv for sports. It’s preposterous this feature is still not available on Now.
Will a Sky Sports+ App be available as an individual subscription service on Apple TV 4K & Amazon Fire TV & Roku ???
No (at least not that we know of), you’ll need to use the NOW app.
I wonder if they will have faster on demand availability with this. I noticed that NOW was updated on Apple TV a couple of weeks ago and it now has live pause and I can rewind back up to 2 hours before I started the live stream.
On demand is also 1080p instead of 720p so it’s nearly perfect. All it needs is the watch from beginning option and fast if not instant on demand availability. Im sure if they use the glass/stream infrastructure’s cloud recording capability for NOW they could provide that. I hope that’s what they are doing.