Sky has launched its latest subscription service for downloadable content that can be viewed offline in the UK and Ireland. Sky Go Extra provides content from channels including Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, partner channels including Nickelodeon and its range of movies so that users can watch on up to four different mobile devices.
The service is available to Sky TV customers for £5 ($7.93 USD) per month and builds on the Sky Go product which allows users to watch live and on demand programmes. The ability to download content to more than one device reflects the rise in the number of mobile and Internet connected devices per household and provides a little more flexibility.
The broadcaster says that the original Sky Go attracts more than 3 million unique users per quarter, so it has a fair starting point to work with.
Spreading the subscription
Whether you can access Sky Movies as part of the offering depends on your existing home subscription. Films can be seen around six months after they leave the cinema and once downloaded, they can be stored for up to thirty days.
This puts Sky in direct competition with services like iTunes which already provide a download service where content can be watched over several days. Whether the subscription format rather than pay on demand will be more lucrative, remains to be seen. But so far Netflix and LoveFilm are not quite as flexible.
Sky estimates that customers with a 64 GB iPad will be able to store in excess of 400 half-hour shows and more than 80 movies. The firm is advancing with the demand of its customers having already released an on-demand service and a suite of free apps including the Sky+ app which can be used as a remote control for the Sky+HD box.
To use Sky Go Exta, customers can visit the site to join or upgrade. From there, when they enter the Sky Go app, they should be able to download programmes and register other devices. The apps have been updated across platforms. The service can be cancelled at any time subject to 31 days notice and there is a two-month free trial running until the end of March.
Image Credit: Stringer – AFP/ Getty Images
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