Sky is moving over to a new way of supplying TV to homes and that could be bad news for Sky Q.
Sky Q is a bit like a fine wine. Despite its age, people still absolutely love it. This hugely successful set-top box still sits underneath TVs in millions of homes across the UK, and it’s not surprising that users don’t want to get rid of it.
The satellite-powered device offers instant access to hundreds of live channels along with on-demand content and apps such as Netflix and Disney+.
It’s compatible with 4K and has an all-important hard disk tucked inside, which lets users record and store hours of shows and movies.
Sky Q first arrived all the way back in 2016 and has been a massive success story for Sky, but is its death on the distant horizon?
It doesn’t take a super sleuth to realise that Sky Q is no longer the firm’s favourite child.
Take a quick trip to Sky’s online store and you won’t see deals or adverts for this device. Instead, the firm is pushing newer ways to watch the telly including its Stream box and very latest Sky Glass Gen 2 TV.
For those not aware, these gadgets ditch the dish and beam content to the big screen using the web instead. Switching to the internet to supply homes with entertainment, sports, and movies makes sense as the products can be DIY installed (there’s no need for an engineer to visit), and it’s easier for Sky to push out regular software updates.
It’s these features that could put Sky Q under some serious pressure in the future.
“Ultimately, Sky would prefer to migrate all users onto its IP-based products, which in turn will lead to the end of Sky Q,” explained top analyst Paolo Pescatore to The Sun.
Another problem for Sky’s Q box is that its current life has only been confirmed for another four years. Sky recently announced that it has signed a new contract with SES – a provider that beams Sky content around the UK – to keep the satellite signal running until at least 2029.
It’s unclear what will happen after that and if streaming can gain enough market share – although it seems Sky may have to commit to longer period once the current contract ends.
“It all depends on the success of migrating customers onto Sky OS and how quickly,” Pescatore added.
“For now it looks it will have to renew, but expect to see a plethora of punchy deals seeking to sway customers.”
During the recent Sky Glass Gen 2 launch event in London, the company told Mirror Online that they were still fully committed to Sky Q and are aware of how much people still love using it. They also said that will continue to support and upgrade it in the future.
However, it seems clear where Sky is heading and which products it would rather we have in our homes.
Are you ready to ditch your Sky Q box and switch to streaming? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.