Sky Anytime+ offers video on demand
informitv’s William Cooper comments on Sky’s new video on demand offering, which has been some time in coming and still has limitations…
British satellite broadcaster Sky is finally able to offer video on demand over broadband to subscribers with high-definition digital video recorders.
The service will provide a range of premium programming, but not necessarily the opportunity to catch up on shows transmitted by terrestrial broadcasters, who are backing their own YouView platform. Having been highly critical of YouView in the past, Sky is not dismissing the possibility of providing programming through it in the future.
Sky Anytime+ has been some time in coming, and it is only now that a critical mass of millions of subscribers to both broadband and high-definition services from Sky will be able to benefit from the network port in the back of their boxes.
They will soon be able to connect it to their broadband network and for the first time receive video on demand services, going some way to matching what has so far been an advantage that cable has had over satellite. Although Sky has previously been able to broadcast and store shows on its digital video recorders as a push video-on-demand service, the use of broadband opens up access to a much larger library of programmes.
Once connected, Sky subscribers will be able to access over 600 movies, “box sets” of popular entertainment and drama serials, and other programming delivered on demand, depending on their package. As well as shows from Sky channels, the service will carry programming from third-party brands, like Disney and National Geographic, with the library continuing to build over the coming months.
However, consumers will not necessarily be able to catch up with previously transmitted programming from British broadcasters like the BBC, which has so far refused to unwrap its video-on-demand offering from its iPlayer packaging. For that they will currently need a network-connected television, disc player, games console, personal computer or a separate set-top box.
Initially Sky Anytime+ will only be available to Sky Broadband customers, of which there are now 2.8 million, with a Sky+ HD box, of which there are 3.1 million. Some 2.3 million customers now take a bundle of television, broadband and telephone services from Sky.
Now reaching 9.956 million households, with 96,000 net additions in the last quarter, Sky draws ever closer to its long-term target of ten million satellite subscribers by the end of 2010.
For the first time, the average annual revenue per user is over £500, boosted by broadband and telephone services. In the year to the end of June 2010, Sky received revenues of £5.9 and invested £1.9 billion in programming, providing an operating profit of £0.8 billion…
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