Sky Sports undergoes one of its biggest revamps in its 23-year history on August 12 as it launches two new channels ahead of the start of its coverage of the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season.
Sky Sports News will relaunch as Sky Sports News HQ as the broadcaster aims to streamline its sports news offerings across its TV, digital and mobile services, while Sky’s new European football channel Sky Sports 5 also launches on the same day.
Both unveiled to coincide with the new football season and after much fanfare and build-up in recent weeks, Sky Sports News HQ and Sky Sports 5 form part of BSkyB’s latest defence of the company’s position as the dominant force in televised sport over the last two decades and more.
Among many significant changes, Sky Sports News HQ will launch on Sky channel 401, replacing the slot on the EPG which has been held by Sky Sports 1 since the launch of Sky Digital in 1998.
Therefore, Sky Sports 1 moves to 402, with Sky Sports 2 moving to 403 and so on, with Sky Sports F1 moving from 406 to channel 407.
Alongside the major revamp of its sports news channel, Sky Sports welcomes a new channel to its stable – Sky Sports 5 – which will be the home to Sky’s European football coverage.
From August 12 when the channels realign, Sky Sports 5 will be found on channel 406 and is being made available by Sky to its Sky Sports customers at no extra cost as part of their sports packages.
Sky Sports 5 will be the seventh channel launched by Sky Sports since its inception in 1991 and will be the home of European Qualifiers for Euro 2016, UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Coppa Italia and Copa del Rey, plus a host of other European football programming including Revista De La Liga and Champions League Weekly.
The new channel kicks off in style on August 12 with the 2014 UEFA Super Cup between Real Madrid and Sevilla, which is being held for the first time at Cardiff City Stadium.
Madrid qualify as Champions League winners, while Sevilla earned their spot thanks to last season’s UEFA Europa League success over Benfica, with the two La Liga rivals both aiming to win the competition for the second time.
It is the first of up to 600 live games from European competitions to be broadcast on Sky Sports 5 this season.
Coverage of the Netherland’s top league, Eredivisie, as well as the centralised Champions League-style system imposed by UEFA for international qualifiers, is in essence the only new rights added to Sky’s vast football portfolio, while the movement of some competitions to Sky Sports 5 exclusively also restricts access to those with rival TV packages who are unable to receive the channel at present.
But the launch of a fifth Sky Sports channel, along with the revamp of Sky Sports News, is widely seen as the company’s mechanism in fending off strong competition from arch rivals BT Sport, who themselves take over the coveted Champions League contract from 2015/16.
Other changes to Sky Sports this season also includes an updated website and app offerings, as well as a new Premier League on-demand section for Sky customers.
Read SOTB’s extensive guide to all the changes, both on-screen and behind-the-scenes, as Sky Sports undergoes one of its most significant revamps in its two-decade existence from August 12.
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SKY SPORTS NEWS HQ
SKY SPORTS 5
CHANNEL EPG CHANGES
OTHER CHANGES
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Britain’s only rolling sports news channel will be transformed with a fresh new look and brand new state-of-the-art studio as Sky Sports News becomes Sky Sports News HQ.
Launching on Sky channel 401 at 6.00am on Tuesday, August 12, Sky Sports News HQ promises to deliver even more breaking news across a streamlined TV, digital and mobile service, with a new on-air schedule and upgraded studio, as well as improvements to online content, apps and integrated social media coverage.
Taking inspiration from the look and feel of Sky News, the new Sky Sports News set will feature a 30-foot circular giant screen, which will stand behind the presenters’ main desk in the centre of the studio.
Compared to previous sets where the on-air team have largely been confined to their desks, the new studio will also allow the presenters to freely walk around and interact with the giant screen for various news items and features.
The revamped 24-hour Sky Sports newsroom will incorporate social media into reporting, sorting the newsworthy from the nonsense.
The brand new studio comes complete with an 18m² Hub video wall which will keep viewers up to date on the news and live sport being shown on other Sky Sports channels.
There will be a new area for discussion and debate, which will host shows such as Sportswomen, the UK & Ireland’s only weekly women’s sports show.
Sky Sports’ digital media news team will be based in the heart of the newsroom, breaking and updating news via the Sky Sports mobile apps and skysports.com, as well as live blogs throughout the day.
With its fresh new look and move to the top slot on the EPG of the Sky Sports portfolio of channels, the revamped Sky Sports News HQ will offer:
New Schedule: New programmes and features plus a greater emphasis on reporting stories under investigation, delivered by a team of over 200 staff, 32 reporters and 20 presenters including Kirsty Gallacher, Jim White and Natalie Sawyer.
New Studio: Almost double the size of the previous Sky Sports News studio, the new space means viewers will enjoy more breaking news delivered in new ways, including via an 18 square-metre video wall or investigation desk as just two of 11 different presenting positions.
Digital Offering: Sky Sports apps and website have been redesigned with additional personalisation, a SSN HQ ‘hub’ offering catch-up video clips and additional content alongside the live channel, breaking news notifications and trending articles.
Socia Media: A social media desk will immerse viewers in the newsroom environment as Sky Sports News HQ reporters investigate what’s being said on social media channels. Users will be able to have their say and join the debate via Sky Sports apps, skysports.com and social media.
Sky Sports News HQ will offer viewers a range of new programmes and features when it launches on August 12 which aim to put the viewer at the heart of its sports news coverage.
From August 12, the brand new schedule will offer even more breaking news, investigative reporting and greater viewer interaction.
New programmes, including The Morning View, News HQ at 5 and Sky Sports Today, will complement existing shows on the schedule, as well as showcasing other content on the Sky Sports channels.
The schedule will be delivered by some of the biggest names in sports news broadcasting including Jim White, Kirsty Gallacher, Mike Wedderburn, Natalie Sawyer, Julian Warren and Kate Abdo.
MORNING: Following Good Morning Sports Fans, The Morning View will be shown from 10.00am to 12.00pm and will include expert analysis, comment and opinion on events from the night before, issues of the day and preview the sport ahead that day.
AFTERNOON: From 12.00pm until 5.00pm, Sky Sports Today will keep viewers up to date with the major sports news each afternoon. The new investigations desk will seek to validate the sports rumours and stories being debated across social media.
EVENING: News HQ at 5 and News HQ at 6 will provide a round-up of the sports headlines from the day for when viewers get home from work. Sky Sports Tonight offers viewers extended reports and features from 7.00pm. Sky Sports News at Ten and Through the Night return for a final view on the day’s top stories.
WEEKENDS: Live sports news coverage continues every weekend with all the latest stories and reports every Saturday and Sunday plus programming favourites including Gillette Soccer Saturday, Goals Express and Transfer Centre.
Sky Sports News HQ viewers will see and be part of the newsgathering service as the Investigating Desk will update them live on stories the team are chasing as they chase them.
Andy Cairns, executive editor of Sky Sports News HQ, said: “We’ve got the programmes, the team and the technology to put our viewers at the heart of sports news.
We’ll be asking the questions that don’t get answered in 140 characters, chase what’s not being said as well as what is and involve our viewers in polls for instant reaction to breaking news and issues of the day. This new schedule reflects the changing ways sports fans get their news, and will ensure the service offers everything sports fans need across TV, online, mobile and social.”
Director of Sky Sports digital media, David Gibbs, added: “We’ve been working closely with Sky Sports News HQ to ensure we contextually deliver the news so sports fans can keep up to date wherever they are, and on whatever screen they happen to be looking at.
Our news team will be based in the heart of the new studio, helping to break and make stories, providing a service that remains at the forefront of sports news.”
Watch the new-look Sky Sports News HQ in action from 6.00am on August 12
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Football fans rejoice as the first-ever UK TV channel dedicated to European football launches on Tuesday, August 12 as after a month of hype, Sky Sports 5 finally goes on-air.
The all-Spanish affair between Real Madrid and Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup, which is expected to feature Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, will be the first of 600 live matches throughout the season on the new channel, which will showcase some of the continent’s best players, teams and competitions.
Sky Sports 5 will be the home of all the network’s coverage of the UEFA Champions League for the 2014/15 season, as well as La Liga, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia, Dutch Eredivise and UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers, featuring Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Sky Sports has scheduled up to 75 live matches from five European competitions during the first five weeks of Sky Sports 5, all available to Sky Sports customers at no extra cost as part of their sports packages, and as a further bonus they can also get two years’ free Sky Broadband Unlimited.
Viewers will be able to follow many of the stars and teams from the 2014 FIFA World Cup, including World Cup winners Germany in European Qualifiers for the UEFA EURO 2016 Finals in France starting with their first competitive fixture against Scotland on Sunday, September 7.
The opening five weeks will offer 24 European Qualifiers, 18 UEFA Champions League fixtures, weekend triple-headers from La Liga and up to three games a week from Holland’s top division, Eredivisie, including regular live coverage of Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven and FC Twente.
Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis said: “We promised the ultimate European football channel and this opening schedule shows we’re delivering from day one.
“Only on Sky Sports 5 can viewers enjoy Messi, Bale and Ronaldo week in, week out in some of the best European competitions.
“We’ll tell the complete story from the European Qualifiers campaign, offer 129 UEFA Champions League matches and so much more, including weekly live coverage of the biggest teams and players in Spanish and Dutch football.
“There’s no better place for fans of European football.”
Sky Sports customers can enjoy all this on TV, online and via mobile and tablet devices with Sky Go.
Sky Sports 5 will also be available on NOW TV via the Sky Sports Day Pass on TV and a range of devices, which offers sports fans pay-as-you-go access to the best live action from all Sky Sports channels for 24 hours for £9.99.
Sky Sports 5 is free of charge to both new and existing Sky Sports subscribers who activate the channel by visiting sky.com/skysports5, on the red button or by calling Sky.
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To coincide with the launch of Sky Sports News HQ and Sky Sports 5, several significant changes are being made to the Sky Sports channel portfolio.
From Tuesday, August 12, Sky Sports News will move from 405 to its new slot at the top of the Sky Sports EPG on 401, with Sky Sports 1-5 moving to 402-406 and Sky Sports F1 changing to 407.
Sky says the changes to the order of the EPG will “provide viewers with an unrivalled sports news service plus a showcase of other content on the Sky Sports channels”.
Viewers will not need to change anything with the set-top boxes or equipment, other than remember the new channel numbers when tuning in from Tuesday onwards.
Full details of the channel realignment for Sky subscribers can be found below. Changes to the Sky Sports EPG slots on Virgin Media have already been carried out, with Sky Sports News HQ on Virgin channel 501
Subscribers with the Sky Sports high-definition package will see the HD versions occupy the slots below.
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SKY SPORTS CHANNELS on SKY from AUGUST 12
401 – Sky Sports News HQ
402 – Sky Sports 1
403 – Sky Sports 2
404 – Sky Sports 3
405 – Sky Sports 4
406 – Sky Sports 5
407 – Sky Sports F1
Sky Sports revamps online offerings for new football season
Sky Sports confirms UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers coverage
Every Premier League club On Demand with Sky Sports
Virgin Media adds Sky Sports HD channels
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