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How can I watch Sky TV on my Xbox?

Our digital TV expert says...

Hello Mark, thanks for your question about watching Sky TV on your Xbox. The good news is that it’s really easy to set-up, and you don’t need a satellite dish on the side of your house to receive the service, so you’ll be watching your favourite shows in no time. The bad news however is that it is a subscription TV service, so you will have to pay to receive the extra channels and on-demand TV.

Below is a little bit more information on how to set-up your Xbox so you can receive Sky TV, the costs involved and what you’ll be able to watch when you do subscribe online.

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What is Sky TV on the Xbox 360?

Sky’s online TV service, the Sky Player ( www.skyplayer.sky.com ), was made available to Xbox 360 owners last October - so you can now use your console for more than just games and music.

As long as your Xbox is connected to the internet, you’ll be able to watch live sports, blockbuster movies and loads of programmes on-demand using the Sky Player. You’ll have access to all the live and on-demand pay TV content via your console including shows on Sky1, Sky Movies, MTV, and kids channel Nickelodeon, as well as selected sports channels such as Sky Sports, ESPN and Eurosport, and you’ll be able to chat with your friends online while watching in a virtual “living room”.

And because the Sky Player is an online TV service, you don’t need a satellite dish to receive it - great news for anyone that lives in a listed building that can’t have either a satellite TV or a cable TV service installed.

How to watch Sky TV on the Xbox

To watch the Sky Player on your Xbox 360, you will need an Xbox LIVE Gold membership. You can sign-up to this online via the Xbox website - it costs around £40 a year.

Once you have the membership, you can subscribe to the Sky Player service. There are two options:

• If you’re already a Sky TV customer - Existing Sky customers with an Xbox LIVE Gold membership will be able to access Sky Player’s on-demand content in line with the channels you are able to access through your core Sky TV subscription. Customers with Sky Multiroom or Sky Broadband Unlimited subscriptions are also able to access live channels for no extra charge.
• If you’re not a Sky customer - Non-Sky satellite TV customers will also need a monthly subscription in order to watch Sky TV on their Xbox. Prices start from £15 per month for the Base Entertainment Pack. Customers who want to watch Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and Xtra, ESPN and the Sky Movies channels will be able to add these channels to their Base Entertainment Pack for an additional cost. In addition to the live channels, you will also have access to on-demand programmes from channels you subscribe to.

Will Sky TV on the Xbox affect my broadband?

Because the Sky Player ( www.skyplayer.sky.com ) is an online TV platform, it will use up some of your bandwidth when watching programmes. To use the service effectively, you will need a broadband connection with speeds of at least 2Mb, though the minimum required speed is a connection of just 1Mb.

Using the service shouldn’t affect your broadband, but if people in your home are also using the internet, the live channels and video-on-demand content may buffer.

There is the option to watch in medium or low quality too if your broadband is a little temperamental, but this should be a last resort. I suggest you ensure your broadband connection offers the recommended speeds before signing up to use the Sky Player on your Xbox.

Xbox TV: What can I watch?

There are currently 27 live channels available on the Sky Player ( www.skyplayer.sky.com ), but as it is an internet TV service there is the possibility to add more.

The basic entertainment pack offers:

• G.O.L.D.
• Sky Real Lives
• Sky Arts 1
• MTV ONE
• Sky Sports News
• British Eurosport
• ESPN Classic
• Sky News
• National Geographic
• Nat Geo Wild
• History
• Eden
• Cartoon Network
• Boomerang
• Nickelodeon
• Disney Channel
• Nick Jr.

The sports channels available include Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2, Sky Sports 3, and Sky Sports Xtra. And for film fans, the Sky Movies Screen 1 and Sky Movies Screen 2 channels are available.

I hope this gives you a little more information about the Sky Player on the Xbox 360. As soon as you have the necessary subscriptions, invite your gaming friends round to your virtual Xbox “living room” and watch your favourite shows together.

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