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Sky customers urged to claim FREE TV box or face losing channels in weeks

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6 months ago

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Sky customers urged to claim FREE TV box or face losing channels in weeks

SKY is giving out a free TV box upgrade to selected customers affected by a major change to the broadcaster’s service.

The firm is phasing out SD (standard definition) channels in favour of HD only.

Sky has already pulled some SD channelsCredit: AFP or licensors

We’ve already seen more than a dozen Sky SD channels disappear this month as part of the move.

The BBC and ITV have already shutdown their SD broadcasts on satellite too.

Now Sky is warning customers that dated boxes will lose access to all of their branded channels in June.

The changes affect anyone with a Sky+ or Digibox – see the full list of models below.

Digibox

  • 4F01 to 4F08 (Amstrad)
  • 4E01 to 4E05 (Grundig)
  • 9F01 to 9F08 and 9F0A (Pace)
  • 0F01 to 0F05 (Panasonic)
  • 4E06 to 4E08 (Thomson)

Sky+

  • 4F2001 to 4F2006 (Amstrad)
  • 4F2101 to 4F2118 and 9F2101 to 9F2137 (Amstrad or Pace)
  • 9F2001 to 9F2024, PVR2, 9F2201 to 9F2235, 9F2301 to 9F2339 (Pace)
  • 4E2101 to 4E2141 (Thomson)

Sky kick-started its satellite tech upgrade plan by bumping off SD versions of Sky Cinema and Sky Sports channels first.

“Without the upgrade, any subscriptions you have to these channels will be cancelled,” the company says on its website.

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“From June, you’ll start to lose access to all Sky channels.”

The good news is affected households can claim a free upgrade to Sky Q.

Easy trick to tell if your Sky box is affected

If you’re unsure what your Sky box model is, follow these steps.

Press Services on your Sky remote.

Then tap the 4 key, followed by 5.

Here you’ll see the version number.

Which SD channels have already gone?

  • Sky Cinema Premiere
  • Sky Cinema Greats
  • Sky Cinema Family
  • Sky Cinema Action
  • Sky Sports Main Event
  • Sky Sports Premier League
  • Sky Sports Football
  • Sky Sports Cricket
  • Sky Sports Golf
  • Sky Sports F1
  • Sky Sports Action
  • Sky Sports Arena
  • MUTV
  • Sky Sports Box Office

Why are channels disappearing?

Analysis by Jamie Harris, Senior Technology and Science Reporter at The Sun

Don’t panic, your favourite channels aren’t shutting down, it’s just the standard definition versions.

And about time too.

HD TVs are commonplace now – and if you can afford to subscribe to Sky Sports and Sky Cinema, you can surely afford a HD TV too.

Those who aren’t watching via HD are missing out on a far superior experience.

Sky is even offering a free upgrade to Sky Q, which you may as well take up.

Ending SD broadcasts via satellite frees up satellite capacity, which costs companies money to run and ultimately falls on all customers to pay towards – it’s hard to justify this cost when so few are still using them.

Remember, this only affects satellite for now.

SD broadcasts of other channels will still be available on Freeview for the foreseeable future.

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