Sky Viewing Cards

Sky provide its subscribers with viewing cards. These all the viewers to access the pay TV channels that they have subscribed to.

The cards are also used to ensure that the sky digiboxes show the correct BBC ITV Channel 4 and FIVE regions on the programme guide and on channels 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105.

The cards are also used for Parental Controls, which users can block certain channels being made available to all viewers, especially children. It also allows the users to PIN protect certain movies and channels, again to try and make "adult" programmes not available to children.

Over the years Sky have produced a number of viewing cards. They are required to change these (as are many pay TV providers around the world) by their encryption company. This means that every 5 or so years, Sky go through a viewing card replacement process. This ensures that their encryption is kept up to date, and tries to make it hard for people to hack into the Sky system and watch their channels for free, or share their "viewing card" over card sharing networks.

Since April 2009, Sky have been replacing their old blue viewing cards with the new white Sky viewing cards. More information on this process can be viewed on our Sky card pages (New Sky Cards), or on sky.com/replacecard.

There is no Freesat viewing card. Freesat comprises of only TV channels that you can watch for free. You do not require a viewing card for these free TV channels. There is the "Freesatfromsky", sometimes known as a Sky Freesat card, that allows access to those free to view channels like Fiver and Five USA.

You do not need a sky card to view ANY BBC channels*such as BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC News or BBC Parliament, or most of the ITV1 regions or ITV2, ITV3 or ITV4.

(*except BBC Prime)

Here are come pictures of the previous Sky Digital cards.

The first Sky Digital viewing card issued when Sky Digital launched on 1st October 1998.

The second Sky Digital viewing card started to be issued from 2000, that incorporated the new Sky digital brand logo.

The old Blue Yellow house Sky viewing cards - issued by Sky 2003. It is expected that all these card will be deactivated early 2010, and so replacement Sky viewing cards will be required should you wish to continue to watch certain channels (Five, Fiver, Five USA, some ITV1 regions, some Channel 4 regions, Sky 3, Viva, and Liverpool FC TV)

The new white sky viewing cards - issued by Sky from April 2009