Talk:List of channels on Sky (UK and Ireland)

July 2014

• If you say this page is out of date, I will upload more information as the EPG changes through.
  • Thanks for that. The data on this page is dated 17 October 2012, so it is indeed quite out of date. --Tvchannellists (talk) 10:03, 20 July 2014 (UTC)

Separation

New service should be separated; in regional areas, are not all channels available. In Wales, for instance, S4C only is available, and is categorised later on Wikipedia. XY007 (talk) 23:59, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

Possibility for page split

This page is extremely long (over 200 KB of text) and my browser freezes momentarily just from trying load it all. Is there any possibility to split parts of this page off into separate pages to improve loading times? Tvchannellists (talk) 02:36, 7 August 2016 (UTC)

I have set up 2016 changes to Sky platform and moved the lengthy table from that section into the new page. I would have archived that at the end of 2016 anyway but have done so sooner - does that help?

There is scope to move the 'manual tuning', 'region mapping' and 'future changes' sections but they sit better on this page so would rather not do so unless necessary.

Just checked the source code and it's a mess. The article itself is amazing and full of info, but the code is a train wreck that needs fixing. Mynameisjeff (talk) 22:02, 15 February 2017 (UTC)

I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to split the article into separate UK and Ireland listings. Thoughts? Mynameisjeff (talk) 13:46, 1 March 2017 (UTC)

Correction Request

Hello editors of the SKY UK and Ireland page. We received a request via e-mail for a correction. Since I'm not in the UK and don't know about the service, I have included the details below so that the regular editors can determine if it's a valid correction to implement. Thanks. Tvchannellists (talk) 08:15, 24 January 2019 (UTC)

At EPG 738 the owner of A Plus TV is shown as “Evolution Media Network”. I wanted to inform you that A Plus TV Limited owns the channel in question and holds the OFCOM license (TLCS 101651BA/1) for the channel. In light of the foregoing reason, you are requested to kindly correct your record.

New Format

Disco recently edited the page format completely. The new format can be found here: Talk:List of channels on Sky (UK and Ireland)/NewFormat. I have reverted the change as it needs discussion before completion. TattooedLeprechaun (talk) 14:16, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

Looks okay to me. The ability to sort would be useful to retain though.

Some duplication of UK & Ireland but that's difficult to avoid due to the amount of differences. If sorting works, then it could be an improvement for Ireland since you can sort based on Irish numbers.

Is there any other particular concern you had? --Bo98 (talk) 14:30, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

Other articles follow the original format, could be confusing going from one channel list to another. I also think it's a little confusing to read. One would need to consistently refer to the Key to figure out what channel belongs to what package. --TattooedLeprechaun (talk) 16:19, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

Also, there are additional separate UK and Ireland Entertainment pages that would need to be addressed too. The accessibility of the new format is only good for people who know what they're looking at, who are familiar to TVCL. A complete stranger looking at the page for the first time would get lost. TattooedLeprechaun (talk) 16:24, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

I did this to (i) provide a separate list across all genres for UK and Ireland (ii) reduce editing time (iii) reduce the size of the original pages (iv) avoid the need for additonal, separate tables for the entertainment pages for UK and Ireland and (v) avoid the need to changes a pack name dozens of time every time a pack changes name (e.g. Sky Entertainment > Sky Signature). All columns are fully sortable and there is a link back to the pack table in the header to each genre table. You can't get a full chronological sort of chanels from the new format - but the ability to do that was removed some months ago when TattooedLeprechaun moved to the format of having one line for each channel rather than listing HD, SD and +1 separately - which I think on balance was the right thing to do. Anyway, I'm going to continue to update the new format. If others also wish to retain the old format they are obviously free to update all three of the existing pages. I don't think the argument that the Sky format is different from other pages is relevant - there are a wide varaiton in formats used by TVCL across the UK and Irish platforms alone, even wider if you look further afield. And the argument about strangers visting the site applies equaly to the new and old format - but I wonder in practice how much of an issue that is.

PS TattooedLeprechaun - you created the master list of satellite channels a few months ago but it has not been maintained for over 4 months; probably worth deleting if you are not going to update it.--Disco (talk) 17:58, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

I felt it was such a major change to the page, that I would appreciate if you discussed it first before making the major change. If people generally agree with it, then by all means, go for it. In regard to the Master list of satellite channels, I am in the process of updating it on my computer and personal server as we speak. I am trying to updating it every 3 - 4 months on TVCL. TattooedLeprechaun (talk) 13:23, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Please also note that I neither approve nor oppose the new format, but I would have liked all the editors of the page to have their say beforehand. TattooedLeprechaun (talk) 13:25, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

All duly noted (including on the update to the master satellite list). Apologies for any lack of consultation. Friday's changes just didn't seem that big an update or controversial to me to warrant discussion but I accept that is subjective and the changes may be more significant for others.--Disco (talk) 17:35, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Since there seems to be no objection I've made the main Sky page the new format but retained a link to the old format channel list in case anyone wants to maintain that as well. The old format list contains only the old channel lists - not the explanatory info or forthcoming changes information - no point in maintaining two versions of that when it is identical. I've updated links to the pages - hope I've picked them all up.--Disco (talk) 07:32, 27 April 2020 (UTC)

Bonus channels in Ireland.

***TAKEN FROM Cmdireland's TALK PAGE***

To Hi there, you have recently removed the bonus channels from List of channels on Sky (UK and Ireland) for Ireland claiming "there is no such thing as bonus channels".

Please refer to page 20 of this PDF from Sky that clearly states on the left column, there are bonus channels: Sky_TV_Contract_ROI.pdf]

If this is inaccessible, I have uploaded an image of page 20 here: Sky Bonus image

-- TattooedLeprechaun (talk) 16:20, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

---The existence of a bonus pack may or may not be accurate but the pdf is unconvincing evidence. Look at the errors in the bonus pack/signature pack lists alone

Missing from Bonus pack list

• RTÉOne +1
• Virgin Media One+1
• TG4 HD
• BBC Four HD
• CBBC Channel HD
• Cbeebies HD

Missing from Sky Signature list

• Sky Comedy
• Sky Crime*
• Vice
• Sky Witness*
• MTV OMG
• Club MTV
• Sky Sports Racing
• GINX Esports TV
• Star Bharat
• Sony Max 2
• Colors Rishtey
• Colors Cineplex
• Colors
• News 18
• HGTV+1 (timeshift only)
• Film4+1(timeshift only)

Following should be shown as having a +1 in the signature pack

• Discovery Turbo
• MTV Music
• TCM
• W
• Investigation Discovery (ID)

Wrong names

• H2 (History 2)
• Sky Sports News HQ (Sky Sports News)

Wrongly included in Signature pack

• Sky Living*
• Universal*
• Real Lives*
• QUEST*
• Boomerang*
• DMAX*
• Good Food*
• Home*
• MTV Dance
• VH1
• At The Races
• STAR Jalsha
• Zing
• Zee Punjabi
• Sony Mix
• STAR Life OK

I've not checked but I suspect the HD list is also a dog's breakfast.

--Disco (talk) 19:55, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

It's the only official current document from Sky there is in relation to the Bonus Pack. The idea was to convince Cmdireland that there are Bonus channels, and that PDF confirms it. I understand it's highly out of date, but logic from the Sky article can address the inaccuracies. TattooedLeprechaun (talk) 13:23, 3 May 2020 (UTC)

I've contacted Sky in relation to this, and they have said this is just a guide for what type of channels are available. They said the Bonus pack still exists with the current Bonus channels listed, but they admit some are missing. TattooedLeprechaun (talk) 13:27, 3 May 2020 (UTC)

My point is there is no Bonus Pack. You can't and have never been able to buy the Bonus Pack on Sky ROI. I currently have an ex-ROI viewing card to watch the eir Sport Pack on a Sky HD box (DRX595). I do not have a Sky subscription. When I remove the viewing card, all the BBC channels are viewable, because they are FTA on satellite. I can't watch any RTE, TG4 or Virgin Media channels as they are subscription channels, available on the most basic Sky subscription which is currently the Signature pack and they are subscription channels on every other TV platform here in Ireland except Saorview (DTT) which is the Irish version of Freeview. Even the PDF states the so called Bonus channels are available on the Signature Pack. Personally i think the term bonus in relation to Sky ROI was just a sales tag line when Sky launched in Ireland many years ago

Also 4Music is FTV here in Ireland too. I have it added to Other Channels and is viewable without a subscription

-- Cmdireland (talk)

That's useful clarification, thanks Cmdireland. I've updated the bonus channel table in case TattooedLeprechaun still thinks it's necessary to include it. Peresonally I think it's an unnecesary complication. The bottom line is either you need the Signature Pack subscription or, for BBC channels, you don't - and that's clear fromt the main tables.

The UK contract on sky.com contains a pretty inaccurate channel listing as well - not as bad as the Irish one but contains many of the same mistakes (and some different ones). -- Disco (talk)

Also, with a Sky subscription in Northern Ireland, RTÉ One (SD only), RTÉ2 (SD & HD) and TG4 (SD & HD) are available on 161, 162, 163, 836 & 837. They are not Bonus channels in that region either

The term Bonus came about I think when Sky launched in ROI after the huge success of the UK version. It was a marketing ploy to make customers think they were getting more channels to justify the monthly price. Completely forgetting to mention the numerous channels on Sky UK not available in Ireland (ITV/ITV2/3/4/CITV, BBC News/Parliament/Alba and loads of BBC radio channels, Channel 4 HD/4seven, and the Channel 5 channels) and all the +1 versions -- Cmdireland (talk)

The bonus pack in a sub-category and is part of the Sky Entertainment/Signature pack. I would like to keep it in as it's from an official document from Sky and I think it's important to retain the integrity of what Sky have claimed, whether any of us us agrees that the Bonus pack is needed, is irrelevant, because it comes from an official document from Sky. I do agree that the Bonus pack is not a extra pack one can buy.

In relation to 4Music, that's actually part of the Sky Signature pack in the UK and can be manually tuned in in Ireland. It is unofficially available in the Sky Signature pack in Ireland. It's not available on the Ireland EPG. TattooedLeprechaun (talk) 12:24, 6 May 2020 (UTC)

I'm sorry but you are wrong to suggest 4Music is not Free-to-view, and only available on the Signature Pack. It's FTV in the UK & Ireland. As stated above I can watch it via Other Channels on an ex-ROI viewing card. Just like I can watch Yesterday +1 (261) and Dave (111) Cmdireland (talk)

The bonus pack goes back to when Sky had different genre packs: variety, knowledge, style & culture, music, news & events, and kids. You could have whatever combination of packs you wanted. There wasn't really a "base pack", so the way they did the extra channels was they had a "bonus pack" that was given to those who subscribed to any of the packs. Unlike the UK, it needed to be a subcription pack because the channels involved weren't all FTA/FTV.

Nowadays, there is a single base pack so the purpose of the bonus pack has faded along with any references to it. I wouldn't be surprised if the encryption of the channels is still technically set up as a bonus pack (though I don't think anyone has a way to verify this from the satellite data), but it's mostly an internal detail nowadays. Maybe it'll disappear entirely if someone gets bored and wants to clean up things, or maybe it'll come back to life if Sky change their subscription model in the future. Maybe there's a contract element too. Who knows. --Bo98 (talk) 23:36, 6 May 2020 (UTC)

I've moved the Bonus channels to the Additional page. I don't think there's going to be an agreement, and Sky may use these in future as Bo98 said. TattooedLeprechaun (talk) 12:15, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

Quick question for CMDIreland - you said above that with a Sky subscription in Northern Ireland, RTÉ One (SD only), RTÉ2 (SD & HD) and TG4 (SD & HD) are available on 161, 162, 163, 836 & 837 - which is shown on the Sky page of this site. But do you know if you need the HD pack to view the HD channels in NI or is the Signature pack sufficient? It seems that in Ireland you can view RTÉ One, RTÉ2 and TG4 in HD with the Signature pack - I just wondered if that was the same in NI. If it is, the Sky site needs amending. I thought that in NI you could also manually tune in RTÉ One+1 and RTÉ One HD with the Signature pack but I’ve just seen on a digital spy forum post from last year that RTÉ One HD geo blocked in NI as it is in GB. Not sure about the +1--Disco (talk) 09:05, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Hi Disco. In the Republic of Ireland, a basic Sky sub (not HD pack) is required for RTÉ One HD, RTÉ2 HD and TG4 HD. They are on 101, 102 and 104 if you have a HD box. In Northern Ireland, I honestly don't know if an extra HD pack is required to view the 3 HD channels, but I would presume a HD pack would not be needed. Again unsure of the availability of RTÉ One HD and +1 through other channels. Hopefully there are some NI posters on DS that could help with that Cmdireland (talk) EDIT - Just seen you asked about NI on DS. You are correct, RTÉ2 +1 never launched on Sky, it was testing for ages but never launched in the end

Yes, from your reply and from the DS reply it would seem that you just need the Signature pack to view RTÉ2 HD and TG4 HD in NI - consistent with RoI. It would also appear that RTE One HD is not available in NI via other channels but RTE One+1 is. Many thanks - I've updatded the site with the correct information.--Disco (talk) 15:05, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Packs & FTV hours in Adult genre

6 Channels are Free-to-air;

• 902 Xpanded TV
• 906 Babenation
• 908 Get Lucky TV
• 914 Xpanded TV 2
• 923 Studio 66 2
• 924 Studio 66 3

With 3 different Premium/PPV options in the "Packs and keys" section - "Premium" / "Pay-per-view" / "Premium pay-per-view" I'm wondering which pack is suited to the rest of the Adult channels? There are only 2 different subscriptions

These 3 channels are available as 1 subscription;

• 900 Television X (Free-to-view broadcasting hours 06:00-22:10) - (Subscription 22:10-05:30)
• 903 TVX Bangers (Subscription 22:10-05:30)
• 904 TVX 40+ (Subscription 22:00-05:30)

These 8 channels are available as 1 subscription;

• 901 The Adult Channel (Free-to-view broadcasting hours 05:30-22:10) - (Subscription 22:10-05:30)
• 910 XXX Public Pickups (Free-to-view broadcasting hours 20:00-22:10) - (Subscription 22:10-05:30)
• 913 Babes & Brazzers (Free-to-view broadcasting hours 05:30-22:00) - (Subscription 22:00-05:30)
• 915 XXX Big & Bouncy (Free-to-view broadcasting hours 20:00-22:10) - (Subscription 22:10-05:30)
• 916 XXX Girl Girl (Free-to-view broadcasting hours 20:00-22:10) - (Subscription 22:10-05:30)
• 917 XXX College (Free-to-view broadcasting hours 20:00-22:10) - (Subscription 22:10-05:30)
• 918 XXX Mums (Free-to-view broadcasting hours 20:00-22:10) - (Subscription 22:10-05:30)
• 922 Climax (Free-to-view broadcasting hours 05:30-22:10) - (Subscription 22:10-05:30) -- Cmdireland (talk)

I have updated the table - is that clearer? Best --Disco (talk) 18:22, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

That looks alot better Disco. Many thanks for updating -- Cmdireland (talk)

Reorganisation of entertainment and documentaries

• TattooedLeprechaun - how is this in any way clearer? There is now huge duplication and a lot of highly misleading descriptions. e.g. These channels are available in the England region only on the channel number shown. That's not true - a lot of those channels are on that number in a number of other regions (or more accurately nation). It also requires a huge amount more scrolling - particularly annoying if you are trying to read on a phone - and a lot more maintenance because of all the repetition. I'm not saying there isn't a way of trying to reflect the different numbers in different nations more clearly but I don't think this is it.

• BTW you seemed very keen that major changes should be agreed before implementation - has something changed?

-- Disco

Split for UK and Ireland

As the UK is officially out of the EU, it is expected that the consistency and channel numbers may drift apart more and more (example Music and Radio channels removals). I suggest having two seperate pages for the UK and Ireland. Joey (TattooedLeprechaun) • 💬 15:26, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

Please vote with For, Against or Comment.

Example:
 : '''For''' - I am for this because...... ~~~~

Admin notice: CC'ing frequent editors of Sky pages @Themaster, POWERStarz2004, Jimbo2017, KristianB17: for their opinion as one month has passed with no clear consensus. – Milan Rađenović (talk) 20:21, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

For - I think it would be more beneficial. Joey (TattooedLeprechaun) • 💬 15:26, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

Against - at least for now. The EPG is clearly still one list covering both countries. Numbering for the UK affects numbering in Ireland and vice versa. If that changes in the future then separate lists would be a good idea. But Brexit hasn't chnaged anything - at least yet. No objection to a separate Irish list as long as someone maintains it, but not at the expense of a combined list. -- Disco 16:29, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

For - Sky UK and Sky Ireland are 2 seperate subsidiaries of the Sky Group. -- C0re1980 09:29, 28 January 2021 (UTC)