Sky signals the end of the satellite dish - what does it mean for you?

TV giant Sky has signalled the end of its distinctive satellite dish as it plans to make all of its programming available online.

The broadcaster, home to Sky News, Sky Movies, Sky Sports and and host of other dedicated channels, says the move will allow those that live in properties that cannot have a dish to get Sky.

It already offers some programming online through its Sky Go and Now TV services but this shift will look to exploit the burgeoning area of streaming currently led by the likes of Netflix and Amazon through smart TVs.

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What’s the background?
Almost 11 million UK homes now subscribe to Netflix and Amazon, and there has been a steady increase for both streaming services since they launched here a few years ago.
Sky’s latest figures show it added 365,000 new customers to bring the total to 22.9 million.
However, it faces an ongoing fight to retain customers – while the “churn” rate fell from 11.6% at the end of 2016 to 11.2% that still represents a big number of people cancelling subscriptions to particular packages.

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Sky says, on average, customers are paying £46 a month for the various services, which can include TV packages for sport, documentaries, children’s TV and movies, as well as broadband.
Meanwhile, a premium package on Netflix costs £9.99 a month, while Amazon Prime costs £79 for a year and gives you access to its TV and film offerings.
The rise of BT Sport has also hit Sky’s traditional dominance in the world of sport. BT outbid Sky for the Champions League and also shares coverage of the Premier League – both once bankers for Sky.
BT also scooped the recent Ashes cricket series off Sky.
Sky’s own Now TV service, which offers a range of cheaper ways to view specific one-off films or football matches, has also proved a popular alternative to annual sports or movie channel subscriptions.

What has Sky said?
As well as pledging more “original” shows, the company has set its sights firmly on streaming. CEO Jeremy Darroch said: “We will launch Sky without a satellite dish, with all its channels and on demand content streamed over IP.
“This is a major development for Sky that will open up headroom in existing markets, improve our cost to serve for some customer segments, and offer a future way to take Sky into new markets.”
Italy will be the testing ground for the new wave of dish-less, online Sky services – although customers will still require a Sky box – followed by Austria.
It’s thought the UK could be next, maybe during 2019.

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Does this mean my Sky dish will have to come down?
A Sky spokeswoman said that the plans were in the early stages but that the dishes would not become redundant overnight.
She said those UK homes that have the dishes may well have the opportunity to adopt “IPTV” in the future.
However, with an estimated six million households finding it hard or impossible to get a dish owing to various factors such as planning regulations or issues actually getting satellite reception, a move to internet TV could be a smart move.
Chief financial officer Andrew Griffith added: “Ultimately, we’re about providing services to customers in the way that suits those customers… over time we’ll have to see whether existing customers can either replicate the full range of services or prefer the increased flexibility of consuming on an IP only basis.”