A LONG list of Sky channels is closing from today – but the shutdown won’t hit everyone.
The changes only affect commercial premises in the UK, such as pubs, clubs and other venues that show Sky on satellite.
Regular households are not impacted.
From this morning, a number of Sky Cinema SD channels have disappeared in those premises.
That includes Sky Cinema Greats, Premiere, Action and Family in standard definition.
Their HD versions remain live and are moving to new slots in the 300s.
The same goes for Sky Sports SD channels.
Sky Sports Main Event, Football, Golf, Premier League, NFL, Cricket, Plus and F1 are all being axed in SD on satellite in pubs and clubs.
Their HD replacements are staying on air, shifting into the 400s.
Sky has already closed these SD channels for residential customers, so the commercial shutdown is the final step.
The broadcaster says the shake-up is part of its wider plan to phase out SD completely as viewers have already moved to HD as the standard.
It means landlords and venue owners who haven’t upgraded their equipment could see blank screens if they rely on the old SD feeds.
Sky has urged commercial customers to check their set-ups and make sure they have HD-compatible boxes to continue showing the channels.
For everyday households, nothing changes – the HD versions remain available as normal.
It’s not the first time Sky has taken this step.
Earlier this year, the company closed down many of its standard definition film channels for residential viewers, urging households to switch to HD boxes.
In fact, Sky has been gradually retiring SD feeds for years.
In 2024, it pulled several entertainment channels in SD, including Sky Max and Sky Witness, as part of the same modernisation drive.
Industry insiders say the strategy is about streamlining services and cutting back on duplicate broadcasts, while pushing viewers and venues towards higher quality equipment.
For pubs and clubs, the move could mean extra costs if they’re still running older kit.
Landlords who haven’t upgraded may suddenly find their screens blank when trying to show a big match.
Sky has advised its commercial customers to double-check their receivers and ensure they are HD-ready to avoid disruption.
For households, nothing changes – the HD versions remain available as normal, with no loss of service.
TRY THESE SKY TRICKS!
Got Sky Q? There are some handy tricks worth knowing about…
Find your lost TV remote
If you can’t find your Sky Q remote, don’t panic.
Just press the Sky Q logo on the front of your TV box.
It’s actually a button that will trigger your TV remote’s built-in ringer.
You’ll get 30 seconds of beeping to find where you’ve dropped it. Hint: it’s probably under the sofa cushion.
Search movies by quotes
You might have already used voice search for controlling TV playback – but your remote’s microphone has another clever trick.
It turns out that you can say movie quotes into the remote and Sky will find the film for you.
This is handy if you can’t remember the name of a top movie or show.
Here’s a list of movie quotes to try on Sky.
Save lost recordings
Have you ever deleted something you’d recorded on Sky, only to regret it later?
Or maybe someone in your family removed something without telling you – sparking a massive row.
Don’t panic: you can get them back.
Just go to Recordings > Manage > Deleted and then simply hit Undelete on the item that you want to resurrect.
If you do that, it’ll return to your Recordings section as good as new.
Picture Credit: Sky
