Sky unveils Sky Sports+
May 8, 2024
By Nik Roseveare
Sky has announced it will launch Sky Sports+ this August, a service it says will be “transformational in the amount of choice sports fans will have access to via live streams, the mobile app and a dedicated new channel, all at no extra cost”. With more coverage from the English Football League (EFL), both tennis Tours and men’s Super League, Sky Sports customers will be able to access over 50 per cent more live sport this year.
Integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW, and a revamped Sky Sports mobile app, Sky Sports+ will make it easier for viewers to browse and discover desired content. With the capability to show up to 100 live events via concurrent streams, customers will have more choice than ever before on what to watch, while the dedicated Sky Sports+ linear channel will showcase a selection of the best live sport.
Sky Sports+ comes at the start of a new long-term partnership with the EFL, with over 1,000 EFL games a season featuring every team more than 20 times, and every Championship club on at least 24 occasions. On the opening weekend of the 2024/25 season, every game from across all three divisions – the Championship, League One and League Two – will be streamed live, a first in broadcasting history.
Jonathan Licht, Managing Director at Sky Sports, commented: “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.”
Sky Sports+ will also give exclusive access to Sky’s sports documentaries, such as the upcoming Darts documentary, two weeks before anyone else. With new and enhanced features, the viewing experience aims to be more immersive for fans, giving greater optionality on how they watch sport. Live pause and rewind will be available on all concurrent streams, and the ‘Recap’ feature currently available for Premier League and Championship games will also be made available for EFL games shown on the Sky Sports+ linear channel.
Once live, customers with a full Sky Sports subscription will see Sky Sports+ drop into the existing Sky experience, across Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Sky Q and NOW.
The revamped Sky Sports app will also become the home of sports streaming on mobile devices with Sky Sports+ streams accessible via event centres in the app. New personalisation features will help fans follow their favourite teams and competitions more easily. An improved multi-sports scores section will offer fixtures, live scores and an extended view beyond the usual seven-day football calendar. Refreshed design and navigation, including a much-requested dark mode to improve usability, will also roll out.
For contract-free access to all Sky Sports channels, non-Sky subscribers can purchase a NOW Sports Day or Month Membership. From August, this will also include every single live Sky Sports+ stream and on demand catch-up content. As part of the Sky Sports+ launch, NOW members will also be able to pause and rewind live sports content for the first time.