Sky+ launches 7-day Catch Up TV, 2TB HD DVRs
Sky+ in the UK has bundled several updates to deliver all at once, including expected ones like zeebox integration into its iPad app and an expanded Catch Up TV lineup, plus a new 2TB Sky+ HD PVR.
Viewers will notice the new 7-day Catch Up TV section in their video on-demand section stocked with shows from Sky, ITV Player and Demand 5, with BBC iPlayer arriving this autumn and 4oD next year.
The Sky+ iPad app has been updated to v4.1 with a notification for possible recording conflicts plus expanded content info and social tie-ins powered by zeebox. Now, you can not only change channels from the tablet, but also find out more about what’s playing.
Finally, the new expanded size DVR outpaces the stock configuration available from competitor Virgin Media, and we’re told it is priced the same as the previous 1TB offering.
Sky+ guide launches catch-up TV section – iPlayer, ITV Player, more
Sky has today rolled out its new catch-up TV section on the Sky+ electronic programme guide, as well as announced a new set top box with 2TB storage and added Zeebox functionality to its Sky+ iPad app.
As announced earlier in the month, a raft of changes and improvements are being made to the Sky+ guide, which is now used by over nine million homes in the UK.
The headline new feature is the arrival of catch-up television in the new On-Demand section of the EPG, replacing the previous Anytime service.
From today, Sky+ users can enjoy greater flexibility by accessing seven-day catch up from all the major Sky channels, along with the standalone ITV Player and Demand 5 services.
BBC iPlayer will join the platform this autumn and Channel 4’s 4oD will roll out in early 2013, at which stage Sky will be able to offer all the on-demand services of the UK public service broadcasters.
Previously, Sky+ users had to proactively set recordings of PSB shows on their box if they were going out, or they would miss the programme entirely.
Alongside catch up TV, the new On Demand section also offers box sets, such as Mad Men and An Idiot Abroad, along with movie rentals from the Sky Store.
Launched over a decade ago, Sky+ now generates 1.2 billion sessions of ‘time-shifted’ (away from the live broadcast schedule) viewing from Sky customers every month.
Sky previously offered a maximum of 1 TeraByte of storage in its Sky+ set top boxes, but coinciding with the launch of catch-up TV on the platform, the firm has announced a new Sky+HD 2TB box.
Created in response to customer demand, the new 2TB box has six times the storage of a regular Sky+ HD box and can hold up to 350 hours of HD content, equivalent to more than two weeks’ worth of viewing.
“Since launch, Sky+ has led the revolution in how we watch TV and let more than nine million households take control of their viewing,” Luke Bradley-Jones, Sky’s brand director for TV Products.
“We’re pushing forward again by offering customers even more flexibility, more personal storage and entirely new ways of engaging with their favourite TV.
“With customers using Sky+ a staggering total of more than a billion times each month, it remains the gold standard in pay-TV.”
Also announced today by Sky is a new way for satellite pay-TV customers to interact with their viewing via the Sky+ iPad app.
Sky took a 10% stake in Zeebox earlier in the year, after the second-screen TV app was successfully launched by former BBC iPlayer chief Anthony Rose.
Zeebox technology will now power the revamped Sky+ iPad app, enabling users to connect with online communities around shows on TV across Sky and other channels.
Going live this week, users of the redesigned app can comment on the programmes they are watching via built-in Twitter feeds, as well as gain extra information via tailored sections on the app.
New augmented TV functionality from Zeebox will also be added to the app, allowing users to change channels on their TV using the iPad, as well as browse their Sky+ planner.
Some of these new Sky+HD services require access to a UK ADSL / broadband connection.
Some of these new Sky+HD services that do require access to a UK ADSL / broadband connection may not be availble in Spain.
This will be due to the IP address that you are connecting to the internet from being recognised as a Spanish IP address.
As many of the channels on the Sky TV service do not have the broadcast rights for Spain, then these services, like ITV Player, BBC IPlayer, will be blocked from being used in Spain.
They may be accessed by connecing to a UK server, using a VPN service, or software like expatshield.