In today’s Observer there’s a Sky ad that reads:
“Want to watch Sky Sports live on your PC?”
Then there’s a picture of a laptop showing some Premier League football.
“Now you can with Sky Player.”
Hmm. I’ve heard that claim before. Yes you can, as long as you subscribe to Sky Multiroom (i.e. pay for an additional box on the same subscription – usually to put in a different room in your home), or Sky Broadband Max (i.e. take their phone and broadband package too).
So I looked closely at the ad. Perhaps they’ve changed their terms?
“PC with Microsoft Windows XP/Vista or Intel based Mac with minimum 2Mb broadband connection required.”
That’s all fine…
“Some programmes are unavailable to show online (see sky.com/skyplayer).”
Understandable. Some programming will sell its online rights seperately.
“On demand content outside of your subscription will cost extra.”
That seems reasonable. But I subscribe to Sky Sports.
“Movies and entertainment to download are unavailable to Mac users.”
They use a Microsoft DRM system.
“Information only applies to residential customers in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Further terms apply.”
The devil’s in the detail.
“Further terms apply.”
I log on to Sky Player, and of course I can’t watch the football online, although since I’m sitting in front of my TV, I can watch it there. Sky’s not changed its terms. As I live on my own, I’m not likely to buy multiroom, and as I’m happy with my broadband and telecom providers, I’m not buying their full package.
There are free programmes that I can watch. Lost and 24 are good examples. But even then, I’m forced to download rather than stream programmes. If the BBC iPlayer’s shown us one thing, it’s that streaming’s pretty popular.