Sky TV goes mobile with streaming of channels

Analog TV may have gone the way of the goodnight kiwi, but as the saying goes, out with the old and in with the new.

This certainly wasn't wasted on SkyTV who are launching the free Sky Go App for IOS (according to Sky sources, an android app will follow shortly).

The Sky GO App not only brings 10 live streaming channels to tablets and smartphones, but also replaces the iSky service for PCs and Macs via skygo.co.nz

In addition to providing Sky subscribers with the ability to watch up to 10 live streaming channels, Sky Go will also provide access to the Sky's EPG as well as allowing users to schedule remote recording on MySky.

The new service will also allow subscribers to share content via social media, and will also have parental controls to manage access to content.

The availability of channels will also depend on the subscribers existing sky bundle with available channels consisting of a solid sports line up (SKY Sport 1 SKY Sport 2 SKY Sport 3 SKY Sport 4) plus the SKY Movies channel, E!, UKTV, the Cartoon Network, National Geographic and BBC World News. Sky have also hinted that more content will be added in near future.

The SKY GO preview showcased on an iPad had large fonts and minimal clutter, all of which resulted in a clean interface that appears to make good use of the touch interface to intuitively deliver most of the functionality of Mysky.

Standard features you'd expect on a set top box such as Return to Last Channel Viewed, a Grid or Single Channel EPG View, plus the ability to search for content while viewing and book Recordings on MY SKY were all present and accounted for.

The rationale for launching Sky Go is pretty compelling. SkyTV say that over 70pc of their subscribers have smartphones and/or tablets. With the Sky Go application able to work over mobile networks or Wifi, getting your telly fix on the go should (at least in theory) be a near effortless experience.

As good as Sky GO sounds, there is one caveat - it is likely to put a sizeable dent in mobile data allowances, but the good news is that it'll also work over WiFi on WiFi capable hardware