BSkyB has unleashed its pay Internet TV service this week, hitting Windows, Mac OS X and Android mobile devices. iOS will be coming in a few weeks, and buckle up for PS3, Xbox 360 and Roku in a few months. Sky is betting big on mobile TV and working to cover every available base that is out there.
BSkyB starting dropping hints in January and then officially announced plans at the Guardian Media Summit this past spring. The London launch this week opens the gates and delivers a multi-platform mobile TV service that is headed toward almost every major device platform out there. Sky is looking to move past being known just for satellite transmissions, and the Internet seems like a natural progression. The service will launch with movies only, with titles such as “This Means War,” “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” “We Bought a Zoo,” “The Woman in Black” and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.”
Now TV is directly targeting services such as Netflix and LoveFilm. It is featuring at least five new release features every Friday, most available a full year before they appear on online streaming services. Movies can be purchased one at a time and streamed to PC and mobile devices, but they also offer the Sky Movies Pass, which gives full access to the entire Sky Movies collection, covering over 600 movies from Fox, Paramount, Sony, Disney and Universal. Sky’s Now TV will move into sports soon as well, having recently acquired the rights to the English Premier League. Also on deck are England Test Cricket, Heineken Cup Rigby, Masters from Augusta and ATP Tennis, as well as its own channels such as Sky Sports.
Now TV is poised for success, and Sky wants badly to make this happen. With 13 million potential UK subscribers, streaming Internet mobile TV will be making a big leap in the coming months.
