Sky UK Limited

Formed in 1990 and based in Middlesex, UK, Sky UK Limited is a telecommunications company that provides television broadcasting, broadband internet services, satellite services, and mobile telephone services for consumers and enterprises. Sky UK Limited is a telecommunications company formed through a merger in 1990. Before the merger, the company was known as Sky Television, a company founded in 1989. Since its establishment, Sky UK has been operating as a service provider of television broadcasting, broadband internet, satellite service, and mobile telephone service for both consumers and enterprises.

Sky UK Limited, which is a subsidiary of Sky Group, was formed in 1990 through a merger of two other telecom companies – Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting – and was named as British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) till 2015. In 1989, Sky UK provided the first satellite TV service in the UK. In 1993, the company launched its first subscription plan, followed by its first live stream in 1995, and its first pay-per-view plan in 1996. In 1997, Sky UK was the first service provider of digital TVs in the UK, and it launched the world’s first interactive football match through Sky Sports Xtra, one of its sports channels.

In 2005, Sky UK launched the first streaming service Sky Mobile TV. In 2012, Sky UK launched NOW TV, an internet television platform. In 2012, Sky UK acquired Sky Vision, a production and distribution company, from Pathenon Entertainment, and two years later, acquired Sky Italia & Sky Deutschland. In 2016, Sky UK launched contract-free broadband service, the first of its kind in the UK.

In 2017, Sky UK expanded its business to Spain and Switzerland. In 2018, Sky Group went public on the London Stock Exchange. But in the same year, Sky Group was acquired by US-based telecom tycoon Comcast, making Sky Group private again, as a result, Sky UK remains a private subsidiary of Comcast. In 2020, Sky Mobile, a Sky Group owned subsidiary, rolled out 5G connectivity.

Sky UK provides TV broadcasting services, internet broadband service, smart TV service and telecommunication service. The broadband service, Superfast Broadband, offers different monthly plans that have different speeds of internet. The smart TV, namely Glass, enables users to access its on-demand platform and record live streaming. A similar product, Sky Q, is a set top box that functions the same as Glass, offering on-demand platform access and live streaming services.

The company’s telecom service offers customers SIM cards, which can be purchased with or without mobile phones. Sky UK also runs a studio, known as Sky Studio, to make movies and TV shows, which will be exclusively streaming on Sky Cinema, a Sky UK-owned platform which also streams content produced from Hollywood studio Paramount. Sky UK makes profits from paid TV streaming for exclusive content, telephone connection and internet connection services. The company offers monthly subscription for broadband connectivity, which range from GBP 28 per month to GBP 55 per month.

In the fiscal year till December 2019, the company’s revenue reached GBP 13 billion.