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The best Sky Stream deal can dramatically cut the cost of watching Sky TV.
Sky TV is known for a lot of things, including its blockbuster TV shows — like House of the Dragon, Chernobyl, The White Lotus, Euphoria, and Succession — exclusive documentaries, blockbuster films, and live sports coverage, which will soon be supercharged with the arrival of the all-new Sky Sports+ upgrade for all viewers.
However, it's fair to say Sky TV is not known for its cheap subscription prices.
That's why securing a decent Sky TV deal as soon as it becomes available is critical. Fortunately, the latest crop of discounts are some of the best Sky Stream deals we've seen in a while. There's something for everyone.
The entry-level bundle of exclusive Sky TV channels, HBO boxsets, and Netflix, has dropped from £28 to £22 per month — saving £96 over the two-year contract. But those who want exclusive Sky Sports and Sky Cinema channels included in their package can also unlock at least £96 discount.
The latest raft of Sky TV savings will end 11.59pm on Wednesday July 31.
If you're thinking about upgrading to a new television, it's worth checking out the best Sky Glass deals. The latest sale makes Sky Entertainment and Netflix free for the first three months of your contract with this custom-designed 4K Ultra HD TV — slashing prices down to just £14 per month.
Whether you're watching on Sky Glass or Sky Stream, Sky TV offers a dizzying number of different bundles, including full-fibre broadband speeds, optional ad-skipping, packages with Sky Cinema, and 4K Ultra HD.
Scroll down for our comprehensive guide on all of the best Sky Stream deals, insight into the set-top box, the broadband speeds you'll need to ditch the satellite dish, and more.
Sky Stream is a much smaller box than previous hardware generations from Sky TV, like Sky Q and Sky+ HD, which took up much more space on your entertainment unit
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Sky Stream is becoming one of the most popular ways to watch Sky TV — with 90% of new customers who join opting for broadband-powered kit. Ditching the satellite dish has become so popular that Sky has started to wind down its satellite dish operations and cull channels from its oldest Sky+ boxes.
As well as 100 linear channels that you can't find on Freeview — or its new successor, Freely— the Sky Entertainment bundle comes with over 500 boxsets like House of the Dragon, The White Lotus, Euphoria, Mare of Easttown, Game of Thrones, True Detective, and Succession from HBO, Sky Originals like Rob and Romesh Vs..., Chernobyl, and Brassic.
Unlike Sky Q, which is still available to buy from the Sky Store, High Definition (HD) quality is included as standard with all Sky Stream bundles — so you'll save on your monthly bills compared to this earlier satellite-powered set-top box.
You'll also find a Netflix Standard with Ads subscription included, so you can watch series like Stranger Things, Bridgerton, and Squid Game on your Sky Stream box and any other devices with a Netflix app.
Other popular streamers, like Prime Video, Disney+, and Apple TV+, and catch-up services, including BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and Channel 4, are all supported on Sky Stream out-of-the-box.
The EntertainmentOS software will intelligently suggest new shows, documentaries, and films based on your viewing habits from all of these services. Sky regularly updates its TV platform with new designs, extra features, and voice commands related to some of the biggest shows. EntertainmentOS received 300 updates in a single year in 2023.
When you add upcoming shows to your Playlist, the equivalent to your Recordings on the older Sky Q system, Sky Stream will automatically scour on-demand catalogues from all of your streamers to find previously aired episodes in case you want to catch up.
For example, if you add an episode of Grey's Anatomy on Sky Witness and you've signed into Disney+ on the set-top box — you'll find every episode ready to binge-watch in the menu.
Sky Cinema offers access to some of the latest films from Hollywood and British studios, as well as original productions commissioned by Sky TV.
Not only that, but it also comes with a subscription to Paramount+ to watch on the Sky Stream box, iPhone, Android phones, or a tablet. Each month, you'll also receive two free cinema tickets to watch a movie of your choice on the silver screen at your local VUE.
Sky Sports boasts 9 dedicated sports channels, with over 500 live football games including some of the biggest Premier League fixtures, every England home Cricket Test, One Day International and T20, all four days of the Golf majors, as well as the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup, and exclusive live coverage of the US Open. From August 2024, your Sky Sports subscription will supercharged with the arrival of the all-new Sky Sports+ service as a free upgrade for all viewers.
No matter which bundle you subscribe to — all Sky TV and broadband customers are able to sign up and join the Sky VIP loyalty scheme. You'll automatically enjoy a free film of your choice from the Sky Store.
Sky VIP users can apply for free tickets to film premieres and events, plus enjoy exclusive lounge access at concert venues across the country, including the OVO Arena in Wembley.
Since there's no satellite dish, new customers who take delivery of a Sky Stream won't need to book an appointment with an engineer — just plug in the box and follow the on-screen instructions and you'll be able to start streaming live television and on-demand boxsets as soon as you're connected to Wi-Fi
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Sky Stream is the UK broadcaster's latest set-top box, which first launched on October 18, 2022 in the UK.
As the name suggests, Sky Stream ditches the traditional satellite dish in favour of streaming live television via Wi-Fi or a wired Ethernet cable. It's also available with a 31-day rolling contract, so you can cancel at any moment or switch between Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, and other packages every month — something previously only possible with Sky TV's sister service NOW, formerly known as NOW TV.
Sky Stream runs EntertainmentOS, a bespoke operating system developed by the team at Sky TV to stream its linear television channels over the internet and seamlessly blend catalogues from catch-up services like BBC iPlayer, UKTV Play, ITVX, Channel 4, as well as streamers like Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video.
EntertainmentOS is also the software that powers Sky Glass, the custom-designed Smart TV from the broadcaster. Aside from a few features that rely on specific hardware, like the hands-free voice controls enabled by the far-field microphone array built into the television, Sky Glass and Sky Stream offer the same experience.
Sky confirmed to GB News that it had delivered over 500 software updates to Sky Glass viewers since the all-in-one Smart TV launched in late 2021. There were 300 alone last year.
Of course, Sky Stream has received slightly fewer since it works with your existing telly and doesn't have all of the hardware features found on Glass. EntertainmentOS 1.3 was the most recent update, bringing the ability to follow individual actors and football teams in your Playlist.
EntertainmentOS is an operating system dedicated to streaming linear and on-demand content on Sky Stream and Sky Glass
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But whereas Sky Glass is an all-in-one solution that replaces your TV, Sky Stream works with any television.
Since there's no satellite dish, there's no need to organise an engineer appointment. Getting connected with Sky Stream should be much speedier than traditional Sky boxes like Sky+ and Sky Q as there's no need to wait for a free slot with the engineers. Instead, the moment Sky Stream drops through your letterbox, simply plug in the power and HDMI cables and follow the on-screen instructions. And that's it.
Since everything is beamed to your Sky Stream box via Wi-Fi or ethernet, you'll need a decent internet connection to watch live and on-demand television.
The minimum requirement for Sky Stream is 25Mbps. The average broadband speed nationwide, as measured by Ofcom, sits at 69Mbps, so most people should have enough bandwidth to watch Sky Stream in HD.
If you want to stream in 4K Ultra HD, the minimum speed requirement increases to 30Mbps.
Until May 2023, Sky recommended a minimum download speed of just 11Mbps for Sky Stream, rising to 25Mbps for 4K UHD picture quality. However, the broadcaster decided to change these recommended speeds in the small print of its website last year. It's unclear why the change was made.
In comparison, Netflix states you need at least 5Mbps to watch in HD and 15Mbps for its 4K UHD quality.
If you want to watch Sky TV in multiple rooms of your house, you'll need an additional 5Mbps for every Sky Stream box added to the system. There's a maximum of 6 Sky Stream boxes per household, totalling an extra 30Mbps for those who want to stream from Sky Stream kit in every room.
Sky Stream is much smaller than any other hardware previously launched by the UK broadcaster and has more in common with the likes of a Fire TV Cube or Apple TV than a traditional satellite box
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Since Sky Stream relies on broadband to beam live television channels to your screen, you'll need a decent internet connection to watch without any buffering. Sky recommends a minimum of 25Mbps to watch in High Definition, rising to 30Mbps for 4K UHD, per box. If you want set-top boxes beaming 4K content in multiple rooms around the house, you'll probably need a full-fibre connection.
In some ways, this is nothing new — anyone who wants to watch one of the 500 on-demand boxsets included with the Sky Entertainment package on Sky Q will need to stream via an internet connection. But the main difference with Sky Stream is an internet outage will leave you with almost nothing watch.
In comparison, Sky Q and Sky+ HD will continue to be able to show live Sky TV channels via satellite.
It's also worth noting that Sky Stream doesn't include a physical hard drive. Instead of taping onto the built-in storage, where the recording will exist until you decide to delete it, the Playlist feature on Sky Stream simply collates shows and films from across a wide variety of catch-up and streaming services.
That means you're at the mercy of the licence agreement with the streamers. For example, while you can keep dozens of episodes of Match of the Day on the hard drive built into your Sky Q box, because of the unique agreement between the BBC and the Premier League, the previous episode will vanish as soon as the next instalment is broadcast or after a seven-day window, whichever comes first. As such, you won't ever have more than a single episode of Match of the Day to catch-up on with Sky Stream.
Absolutely. As well as the 100+ channels that you aren't able to find on Freeview included in the Sky Entertainment bundle, Sky Stream has access to all of the linear channels you'd expect to find on the likes of Freeview and Freesat. That means you'll be able to tune in to BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1, ITV2, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV Be, E4, and many more, over a broadband connection.
Although there's a port on the back of the Sky Stream box for a coaxial cable, this isn't enabled in the UK. Sky operates across several European markets, including Italy, where it's a legal requirement for all digiboxes to have the ability to tune-in to traditional linear broadcasts.
We'd suspect that's why the port makes an appearance on the Sky Stream box sold in the UK, even though plugging-in a cable won't do anything.
Sky Glass has the ability to connect to a traditional aerial to watch live television, in case there's a problem with your Wi-Fi connection. However, at the time of writing, this isn't the case with Sky Stream.
Absolutely. If you already have an account with Sky, then it's possible to switch your existing package over to newer hardware, like Sky Stream or Sky Glass. It's worth noting there's currently no way to move existing recordings or Series Link from Sky+ or Sky Q over to Sky Stream — so you'll have to start again.
If you're an existing Sky TV subscriber, sign in to your account online to start your upgrade journey or call the customer service helpline to speak to someone in the company.
Sky Stream unlocks access to a number of exclusive paid-for Sky TV channels, like Sky Atlantic, that you won't be able to find on rival systems like Virgin Media TV 360 and EE TV
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