Sky Sports To Revamp Offering

Sky Sports 1,2,3,4 and 5 are to be replaced by channels dedicated to specific sports as part of a major shakeup which will see Sky introduce new subscription packages cheaper than current offerings.

The changes include the launch of themed channels, similar to Sky’s existing Formula One channel, for its sports including football- which will have two channels- golf and cricket. A fourth channel, Sky Sports Arena, will broadcast other sports including rugby and tennis.

The changes are part of Sky’s attempts to entice sports fans to sign up to cheaper packages focused on the sports they love.

The overhaul of the sports strategy marks the latest move by Sky to combat falling viewer numbers at a time when rights costs continue to spiral as a result of competition from BT. The broadcaster only added 40,000 subscribers in the UK in the three months to the end of March, compared with 70,000 in the same period last year.

Viewing figures for Sky’s Premier League coverage slumped to their lowest point in seven years last season, despite Sky paying £4.2bn in its last Premier League deal, an 83% increase on the previous agreement.

Recent SMG Insight research for the BT Sport Industry Awards highlighted the prominence of illegal streaming, revealing that more than 54% of young millennials have watched illegal streams of live sports and a third admit to regularly watching them, compared to only 4% of over-35s.

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