When Sky's all singing, all dancing Sky Q satellite TV service launched in February, it did so without its headline feature: Ultra HD (UHD) aka 4K content. However, come August 13, those who forked over for Sky Q Silver's steep monthly subscription costs will finally have access to 4K content in the form of movies, TV shows, and live sports.
4K broadcasts kick off with the Leicester vs. Hull match on August 13, followed by another 124 live Premier League games. Every 2017 Formula 1 race will also be available in 4K on Sky Sports F1. Film buffs will have access to over 70 movies in UHD via Sky Cinema, but these will be streamed on demand over the Internet rather than broadcast, and will likely require a fast fibre connection (4K Netflix requires a 25Mbps connection, for example).
Many of the films come from the deal Sky struck with Sony pictures in April, and will include the premiere of the latest James Bond outing Spectre in 4K. Other new 4K films include Bridge of Spies, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, and Concussion, as well back catalogue content like Minority Report, Forrest Gump, and The Godfather.
Those not into sports or films can view several Sky TV Box Sets in 4K on demand, which includes the entirety of Sir David Attenborough's nature documentaries made for Sky, the new Jude Law series The Young Pope, and travel series The Trip to Spain starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. There's a major Blur concert promised too.
That's not a bad set of content to launch a 4K service with—it's certainly more than what's available with BT's competing service, which only offers a handful of football games in 4K—but Sky is gouging customers for the privilege. 4K requires the more expensive Sky Q Silver box, which costs £54 per month and comes with a 2TB hard drive for recordings.
Those that want Sky Movies and Sky Sports on top of the standard TV package have to pay £17 and £25.50 extra per month respectively, or £34.50 for a bundle. That brings the total cost to £88.50 per month with a minimum 18-month contract term. There is a cheaper £42 package available, but this does not support 4K and comes with a smaller 1TB hard drive.
That's a lot to pay, particularly when services like Netflix offer (an admittedly smaller amount of) 4K and HDR content for less than a tenner a month. Sky Q's other features—the ability to record up to four programmes at once and watch a fifth, and stream Sky content around the home without the need for another satellite dish—are fine, but largely irrelevant in an age of second-screening and digital streaming.
Sky is certainly feeling the pinch: shares dropped nearly five percent in April after the company's quarterly churn rate rose to 10.7 percent following price hikes and limitations on discounts. However, the company still managed to post a 12 percent bump in profits (£1.1 billion) over a nine month period. Revenues increased by five percent to £8.72 billion.
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