The platform provides Sky Sports subscribers with 50% more live sports than before, including the EFL, the men’s Super League, tennis and golf
Sky has launched Sky Sports+, which will be integrated into a “revamped” Sky Sports mobile app, NOW sports package and will also be a dedicated new linear TV channel.
Live sports coverage via Sky Sports+ will include the EFL, the ATP and WTA tennis tours, US Open, PGA Tour, men’s Super League rugby and more. Sky Sports+ will provide subscribers with 50% more live sports this year.
Sky Sports+ will be provided at no extra cost to Sky Sports subscribers.
Last year, Sky Sports announced it would air over 1,000 games-a-season in a £935m expansion and renewal of its EFL rights. It will show every Championship club at least 24 times a season.
Sky Sports+ also brings enhanced features to the Sky Sports app, including live pause and rewind, and a recap feature for all EFL games shown on the Sky Sports+ linear channel.
An improved scores section with offer fixtures, live scores and an extended view beyond the usual seven-day football calendar.
Sky says that customers with a full Sky Sports subscription “won’t need to do a thing; Sky Sports+ will simply drop into the existing Sky experience across Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Sky Q and NOW.”
Broadcast Sport was invited to the reveal of Sky Sports+, which was held at Sky Sports’ recently unveiled Monday Night Football studio, to showcase some of the tech innovation Sky has brought to its sports coverage recently.
Jonathan Licht, managing director at Sky Sports took to the floor to explain how Sky Sports+ had been a year in development and was intended to transform the viewing experience.
First, Licht took us through all the things Licht believes shows Sky is in “good shape” – it’s the UK’s leading sports broadcaster; it’s unrivalled in its ability to entertain, innovate and provide value for sports fans; more people watched sports on Sky last year than ever before; etc.
Then, he explained that with Sky investing in more rights – in particular EFL and tennis – and with 90% of new customers to Sky stream sports through Sky Glass or Sky Stream, the time was right to launch Sky Sports+
This, he explained, would be the platform for Sky to show 50% more live sports than before. It would be included at no extra cost for all Sky Sports subscribers, and will provide a simple, intuitive experience for sports fans.
Sky would also be adding a new linear Sky Sports+ channel with the best live action, while the rest would be available via Sky Sports+, which would show EFL, tennis, driver cams for F1, golf holes, lots of data and insights and also live interactive polls and predictions.
The platform is capable of streaming up to 100 concurrent live streams, and will also stream sports docs from Sky two weeks before they are shown on other Sky platforms.
Sky also said Sky Sports+ content will be available to NOW sports package subscribers.
Sky Sports+ will start at the beginning of the EFL season, in August.
Licht said: “Exceptional sport, covered in an innovative and compelling way, has been a big part of our history. With the introduction of Sky Sports+, we are now able to offer sport fans more choice and an even better experience when watching the live action, at no extra cost.
“For the first time, we will broadcast every game live from across the EFL on the opening weekend. It’s going to be a huge moment for football fans up and down the country and is a fitting way to kick off our ground-breaking new partnership with the ELF. And this is just the beginning; Sky Sports+ unlocks the potential for us to keep evolving and finding new ways to deliver brilliant sport to our customers.”
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