Sky to replace satellite dishes and boxes with smart TV sets
Sky is launching a new smart television called Sky Glass which aims to declutter homes by binning set-top boxes and satellite dishes while giving customers access to their favourite films and shows.
The streaming TV integrates all of the hardware and software otherwise spread out across living rooms, including sound-bars, into a device with just a single wire and one plug.
It comes as the company moves to solve what it sees as a consumer frustration with content as well as hardware being spread out across numerous gadgets and digital platforms.
Sky Glass will aggregate content from digital platforms
Available in five colours and three sizes (43″, 55″, and 65″), Sky Glass is the first major product launch from the company since it was acquired by Comcast for £29.7bn in 2018.
It has a 4K UltraHD Quantum Dot display, using nano-crystals that offer an upgrade on the range of colours (over a billion shades according to Sky) and brightness available on the screen.
In keeping with the move to declutter, Sky Glass also does away with the need for a nest of electronics cables for their audio, with six integrated speakers and a sub-woofer.
The launch comes as companies like Sky figure out how to manage the competition from streaming services such as Netflix and Disney.
To this end the company expects to invest in more Sky Originals such as Gangs of London and Chernobyl, and is building a new 32-acre TV and film studio at Elstree in Hertfordshire.
But it’s also making it easier for people who want the content available on competitors’ platforms to access that programming though its own devices.
Sky Glass is available in five colours
This began with Sky Q, a box that aggregated terrestrial and subscription broadcast content alongside digital streaming services.
That same capability is now inside Sky Glass, allowing consumers to access content from Sky, BBC iPlayer, Amazon, Netflix, Disney+, ITV Hub, All4, Spotify, Peloton and others using a single remote or its voice-activated interface.
Speaking at an event to mark the launch of the device, group chief executive Dana Strong said: “Sky Glass is the streaming TV with Sky inside, providing the total integration of hardware, software and content.
“Built on over 30 years of understanding what our customers want, this is a TV that only Sky could make. We believe this is the smartest TV available, and that customers will love it.”
The company also plans to launch a 4k smart camera next year that will pair with Sky Glass and allow people to watch films together, play games, workout and join in calls.
Sky has committed to being Europe’s first net-zero carbon entertainment company by 2030, and Sky Glass is the world’s first television to be certified as carbon neutral.
It also has energy-saving features including auto-switch-off and has completely recyclable packaging, according to the company.
Consumers will be able to either buy it in one go or to spread the cost with interest-free monthly payments in the same way they do when purchasing a mobile phone.
Sky Glass is the new smart TV being launched to replace set-top boxes and satellite dishes
Sky Glass will be available from £13 per month for the 43″ screen, but consumers will also need a Sky TV subscription, taking the cost to £39 per month.
The 55″ screen is available for £17 a month, and the 65″ screen for £21 a month on top of the Sky TV subscription, and all three will begin retailing from 18 October.
The full price is £649 (43″), £849 (55″) and £1049 (65″).
The company says that all of the Sky Glass models come with a full two-year warranty and a free delivery service that includes unboxing and packaging removal.
It was separately announced that Australian pay TV firm Foxtel would be the new system’s first syndication partner.
Asked whether this was an attempt by Sky to muscle in on the TV manufacturing market Brian Roberts, Comcast’s chief executive and chairman, told Ian King Live: “We’re going to be able to licence our technology all over the world.
“We are pleased to have Foxtel joining on this launch date.
“It’s a journey we’re on but it’s more than just the actual physical television.
“In fact that’s what’s so great about the product is, the physical television is maybe the smartest in the world, but it’s what’s behind it that makes that claim so true and that we can do with others over time as well.”
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Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
Entertainment
Robin Kaye: American Idol TV executive and her husband shot dead inside their Los Angeles home
An American Idol TV executive and her husband have been found dead in their LA home.
Robin Kaye was a music supervisor on the long-running reality TV series.
The bodies of the 70-year-old and her husband Thomas were discovered after officers conducted a welfare check at their home.
Both had died from gunshot wounds.
Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas. Pic: Facebook
Detectives say Raymond Boodarian has been arrested in connection with their deaths.
It is alleged the 22-year-old had burgled their property while they were away on 10 July – killing the couple upon their return.
According to Los Angeles Police, there were “no signs of forced entry or trouble” at the property.
Ms Kaye was an industry veteran – and had previously worked on shows including Lip Sync Battle and The Singing Bee, as well as several Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.
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Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles
In a statement, an American Idol spokesperson said: “Robin has been a cornerstone of the Idol family since 2009 and was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her.
“Robin will remain in our hearts forever and we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time.”
Entertainment
Action taken to stop ticketless Oasis fans from watching this week’s shows in Manchester
Huge steel fences have been erected to prevent ticketless fans from watching the Oasis reunion tour in Manchester.
Liam and Noel Gallagher will resume their sold-out run of shows – their first since 2009 – with a performance at Heaton Park tonight, and two more on Saturday and Sunday.
While tens of thousands bought tickets for Oasis’s first two shows last weekend, crowds gathered to glimpse the large screens above the stage in the distance – in an area dubbed “Gallagher Hill” by some on social media.
People walk past a temporary security fence erected ahead of concerts by Oasis in Heaton Park on 1 July. Reuters file pic
Manchester City Council has now said more steel fences have been erected around parts of the park to prevent ticketless fans from watching the gigs, and to protect nature in the park.
“After taking stock of how the first two nights went, additional measures have now been deemed necessary and will be in place for the next three concerts,” it said.
“The erection of the fencing has a dual purpose – both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there.
“The necessary measure means the concert will no longer be visible from this area.”
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Friday: Excited fans at Oasis homecoming gig
The fences will cover a large area of the hill within the park’s cattle field, which is being developed as a new woodland area with around 300 young trees planted.
The council added that there would be no facilities for people without a ticket, and said the event area is “double-walled with solid high security fencing all the way round”.
More than 2,000 event security staff and police officers will also be on duty around the site “to ensure both the safety and wellbeing of ticket-holders and that only those who have tickets access the concert”, it said.
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Fans queue all day for Manchester homecoming gig
John Hacking, the council’s executive member for employment, skills and leisure, also said in a statement that “unfortunately our hand has been forced in having to put these additional measures in place”.
He added: “Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead.
“The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time.
“We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy, whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”
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