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Sky TV is rolling out its biggest overhaul to Sky Sports since fans were treated to 4K Ultra HD streaming back in mid-2016. Dubbed Sky Sports+, the upgraded service unlocks 1,000 EFL football matches, 100 tournaments across the US Open, ATP and WTA tours, and every match from the men's Rugby Super League.
It's taken a year for the engineers at Sky to develop the underlying technology required to juggle 100 simultaneous live streams so sports fans can watch everything included with Sky Sports+. With the sheer amount of content coming, Sky was forced to redesign its mobile apps from the ground-up too.
Best of all? It's all available at no extra cost.
And for new customers, Sky TV has dropped the cost of its Sky Sports bundle on Sky Stream to its "lowest ever price" — saving £216 compared with the RRP.
For £43 a month, it includes a new Sky Stream box, every Sky Sports channel and all Sky Sports+ content. You'll also be able to stream 100+ channels not available on Freeview and everything in the Netflix catalogue too.
Starting from today, August 8, the teams at Sky have started to roll-out the Sky Sports+ upgrade to Sky Glass, Sky Stream, older Sky Q set-top boxes, and NOW TV subscribers nationwide.
Unfortunately, those watching with the much older Sky+ HD kit will miss out.
Sky has timed the launch with the beginning of the English Football League (EFL) season this weekend, bringing every game across the Championship, League One, and League Two streamed on telly — a first in broadcasting history.
Sky Sports+ will be integrated into the EntertainmentOS software that powers Sky Glass and Sky Stream, as well as the older operating system found on Sky Q and all Sky Sports mobile applications — so that everyone has an identical viewing experience
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On August 10, Sky Sports fans can look forward to 30 matches across all three divisions broadcast either on Sky Sports linear channels or streamed via Sky Sports+. The first game of the season on August 9 will also be broadcast on Sky Showcase and Soccer Saturday will air on Sky Mix.
Over the course of the next year, Sky Sports+ will offer 1,000 matches from the EFL, every fixture from the Men’s Super League, coverage of ATP and WTA Tours, and more. With live pause and rewind available across all of these streams, you'll be able to enjoy all of the control and flexibility that Sky is known for. With such a torrent of new sports fixtures coming to Sky TV set-top boxes, the team at Sky has updated user its interface to make it easier to browse, discover, and watch your favourite sports.
Sky Sports+ will be available to watch in a number of ways — as a linear channel from the TV Guide on your set-top box, bolstered by additional matches that are only accessible via the Red Button or via the Sky Sports homepage on your telly.
Sky Sports has agreed a deal with the EFL to broadcast hundreds of additional matches across its channels, something that has pushed the broadcaster into a new streaming model
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These extra fixtures will be streamed via a broadband connection with all of the trimmings you'd expect from Sky TV, including the ability to pause and rewind live coverage. That wasn't possible with the additional coverage broadcast via the Red Button on earlier iterations of the Sky Sports channels.
The Recap functionality currently available for Premier League and Championship games will also be made available for EFL games shown on the Sky Sports+ linear channel.
For those who don't know, Recap is only available for the duration of the match and lets you scroll through a timeline of highlights that you might've missed if you're joining late. The timeline also has key information, like match time, type of event, player information, and team logo.
The team at Sky Sports+ is in the process of scaling up its commentary teams to be able to report from the hundreds of new fixtures that will be taking place on the supercharged service.
Beyond live sport, Sky Sports+ will also give customers exclusive access to Sky’s popular sports documentaries at least two weeks before anyone else. This starts with Mission to Burnley 2, with all episodes available exclusively from Friday 9 August. Following Burnley FC’s return to the Premier League last season, the series will provide sports fans with exclusive insight and a behind-the-scenes look at the action, as Burnley battles to remain in the top tier, facing a tumultuous and challenging end to the season.
Sky Sports+ sets the foundation ahead of an additional 100 Premier League matches coming to Sky TV next season, bringing its total to a record minimum of 215 exclusive Premier League games.
The refreshed sports package isn't just about live fixtures either. Sky Sports+ viewers will unlock access to the latest feature-length documentaries and docu-series from the Sky Documentaries team, such as the much-anticipated Darts documentary, two weeks before anyone else.
The catalogue of documentaries already includes Young Guns: The New Tennis Titans, Hatton, Secrets of Success, Bruno V Tyson, Kenny, Micah Richards: Tackling Racism, and Pushing Boundaries, to name a few.
Due to the sheer volume of new sports content coming to Sky Sports+, one of the biggest challenges for the teams inside Sky TV was ensuring that it was possible to navigate the menu on your telly and find the fixture you're actually looking for.
Fresh from a seismic EntertainmentOS update for all Sky Glass and Sky Stream viewers, the Sky Sports homepage on your Sky device will include live matches, sports podcasts, and documentaries all available in carousels. Content from the existing 11 Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+ fixtures will appear side-by-side on-screen.
With the launch of Sky Sports+ in August, the team at Sky TV has taken the opportunity to completely overhaul the Sky Sports app on Android and iPhone
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Sky has also rebuilt its Sky Sports app, available on iPhone and iPad, to offer live sports coverage and interactive features, like live polls so you can vote and compare your thoughts with other fans. Detailed charts and in-depth data about everything available via Sky Sports+ will be included in the app too.
New personalisation features will let you follow your favourite teams and competitions more easily. Not only that, but there's also a revamped multi-sports scores section will offer fixtures, live scores, and an extended view beyond the usual seven-day football calendar.
Sky has also used the opportunity to add Dark Mode, which it tells GB News was one of the most-requested features from its subscribers.
According to data from the UK broadcaster, 83% of younger audiences rely on a second screen while watching a live event. Sky hopes its overhauled Sky Sports app will be the ticket.
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All of the new features and fixtures coming to Sky Sports+ will be included with NOW, formerly NOW TV, too. From August, every single live Sky Sports+ stream and on-demand catch-up content will be available in the 24-hour Day Pass and Month Passes. NOW remains the only way to access Sky Sports for a single day.
The complete Sky Sports+ experience will be accessible on NOW, formerly known as NOW TV
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As part of the Sky Sports+ launch, NOW members will also be able to pause and rewind live sports content for the first time. The slew of new functionality for NOW viewers might explain the recent price increase for the contract-less service.
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Speaking about the launch, Managing Director at Sky Sports, Jonathan Licht said: "Exceptional sport, covered in an innovative and compelling way, has been a big part of our history. With the introduction of Sky Sports+, we are now able to offer sport fans more choice and an even better experience when watching the live action, at no extra cost.
"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. And this is just the beginning; Sky Sports+ unlocks the potential for us to keep evolving and finding new ways to deliver brilliant sport to our customers."