Sky TV Open to Sky Glass Breakthrough

Sky TV is taking a wait-and-see approach towards the adoption of “Sky Glass” technology in this market after the streaming TV was launched overnight in the UK.

Australia’s Foxtel has become the first global “syndication partner” to sign up to the Sky UK cord-cutting initiative that doesn’t require a satellite dish to receive Sky and third-party content.

Sky CEO Dana Strong has hailed it as the “first platform to fully integrate content from local broadcasters to global giants”.

Reports Deadline: “The product is effectively a smart television, with no requirement for satellite dish, as the Comcast-owned pay-TV giant adapts to a world in which cord-cutting has become the norm. It will launch in the UK later this month and roll out in more territories next year.”

According to Variety, “The almost entirely wireless television is a large screen that can be installed swiftly and only requires an Internet connection to operate — dispensing with the need for a satellite dish or cable box.

“The service will amalgamate shows and films from each different streaming service in one place, allowing users to search by title or category without having to log into each one separately, including Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Sky’s own Now service, among others.

“It will even allow users to seamlessly watch shows where seasons are split between different streaming services due to licensing constraints.”

The 4K-UHD Sky Glass is Dolby Atmos-capable and comes in three sizes, ranging from 43-65 inches, and a variety of colours: white, pink, green, blue, and black.

The Telegraph says it opens up a new front in Sky’s fight for subscribers by broadening its battle beyond streaming aggregators such as Roku and Google Chromecast and towards TV manufacturers including Samsung and LG.

“While the company will make a small margin on each Glass, the main aim is attracting customers who could not or did not want to install a satellite dish.”

A media consultant told the paper: “Although this is a huge product launch, Sky doesn’t really need to rush to switch its customers over from satellite.

“Given the typical replacement cycle for a TV set is over 5 years (and perhaps up to 8 or 10), if someone has bought a brand new set in the last year or two then it might be a while before they wish to splash out on another. As a result, there are many years left for satellites.”

Channel News reports Sky hasn’t named the TV manufacturer it’s partnered with yet, but the full specifications include a UHD Quantum Dot display, support for Dolby Vision, HDR 10, HLG, three HDMI 2.1 ports,  a single USB-C port and six speakers for up to 215W of surround sound: 3 outward firing speakers, 2 upward, and 1 central subwoofer.

“Sky Glass will form another element in the Foxtel Group’s streaming-led roadmap and is expected to be available in Australia in late 2023 with Foxtel tipped to launch their own TV in Australia with the technology on board.”

“Australian households expected to have an average of almost four entertainment streaming subscriptions by 2025,” Foxtel Group Chief Executive Patrick Delany says.

“Sky Glass will provide customers with a world-class user interface making life simple by seamlessly aggregating content from multiple providers all in one place, together with beautifully designed devices, including the Glass TV with premium quality 4K UHD picture and 360o Dolby Atmos sound.”

As for Sky Glass’ uptake here, a Sky spokesperson told ScreenScribe: “It was good to see the Sky Glass announcement this morning and the continued evolution and investment in technology to improve the ease with which viewers access content.

“We will watch with interest and of course will be open to discussion about a Sky Glass product in New Zealand in the future, if it has appeal to our customers.

“For now, our focus is firmly on delivering our exciting new hybrid (internet and satellite) Sky Box to New Zealanders.

“The new Sky Box performs that important aggregator role for kiwi customers, making it really easy to access all of your Sky content and favourite apps in one place, and it also meets the unique needs of our NZ market, including for those households who don’t yet have access to fast broadband.

“Like the Sky Q box in the UK, and Foxtel’s new iQ5 box, our new Sky Box offers superb functionality, ease and style.

“We are testing its features with customers at every stage of the development process, and are really excited about delivering it to New Zealanders in the middle of next year.”