Sky TV to go satellite dish-free in 2018

Could be interesting and perhaps useful in lieu of the news today also that Sky profits are down and the churn rate is up (and the whole Discovery thing in the other thread)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38756577

Isn't this going to effectively be the same as Sky Go or Now TV but with more content? Could be really useful for many people not just those who can't put a dish up.

Two points:

1. 2018 is a long way away. I wonder what the reasoning behind the news being released now is.

2. The official press release isn't being properly reported by various news sites - it's Sky Q which will go dish free, not Sky+. With Sky Q currently being the premium product, I wonder if they will extend this 'down' to more regular customers (in the way Sky+ once was).

Press release: https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/news-page/2017/award-winning-sky-q-to-launch-without-a-satellite-dish-%E2%80%93-bringing-sky-tv-to-millions-more-homes

Isn't Sky Q the standard box for new customers now?

It really isn't, that's next year!

This topic has been moved from The Newsroom .

I've moved this over as its more technical than anything.

On a related note, assuming a switch over to "IPTV" happened today and all OTA ceased (and in this hypothetical situation, everyone has "reasonable" connection speeds) Could the main networks actually cope with an entire population steaming 4K content? That seems like a massive amount of bandwidth?

Don't want to know what you've been watching...

This might tempt me to switch from Virgin Media to Sky. However, I would want to see how the picture quality of streaming TV compares to broadcast first.

I know a few people who work in the networks side of ISPs, and their answer is a resounding no.

Worth noting that Sky are only offering the IPTV Sky Q service for those who can't have a dish. Those who can will still be offered the satellite option.

This will enable Sky to offer their service to customers who can't have a dish because of landlord, planning or because of obstructions, targeting those who have Virgin or one of the IPTV services.

I would have thought they'd be offering it also to existing customers who currently have a communal dish and/or a single feed.

Like launching Sky Arts, Sky Atlantic and Now TV, this seems clearly aimed at capturing marginal subscription revenue from customers who wouldn't otherwise choose Sky.

Given the technical limitations of streaming I don't see it being a wholesale replacement of satellite in the medium term.