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Freesat from Sky (FsfS) was a British satellite television service fromSky UK. It offered over 240free-to-air (FTA) channels in itsEPG.[1] This is a greater number than its competitors,Freesat, which has 200+, andFreeview, which has 70+.It also had up to six HD channels and used to haveSky Active interactive data service. Sky was not actively promoting the service (in favour of its subscription TV offering) and the service has quietly been discontinued for new customers as of 2021.[citation needed]
As of April 2011[update], the number of households with free-to-view satellite television is estimated byOfcom to be 2.045 million, or 8.0% of households with television. This figure includes households with the BBC/ITV Freesat, Freesat from Sky, andchurned Sky subscribers who kept their SkyDigiboxes to access free-to-view channels.[2]
This service requires use of the proprietarySkyHD or SDset-top box, to receive the FTA channels. Sky's boxes use the proprietary OpenTV EPG for interactive television services. The boxes are limited in some regards when compared to other satellite receivers, such as digital audio, video outputs, and the lack of the ability to use a dish motor and scan for channels not carried on the EPG. They also feature an EPG that contains all Sky channels, including pay-TV services which are not available to non-subscription viewers.Sky currently include a SkyHD Digibox with newFsfS installations. These boxes receive a selection of standard definition and HD channels, but do not record. Those who wish to have Sky+ functionality (recording & time-shifting) must buy their own box, requiring Sky to 'pair' their existing viewing card to the new box. In addition, use of the recording facilities of these PVRs also requires an ongoing monthly fee.
Freesat from Sky differentiates itself fromFreesat not just by its use of Sky equipment but by offering bothfree-to-air andfree-to-view channels. A card is included with installation or can be purchased direct from Sky. For security reasons[3] the viewing cards are deactivated from time to time and reception of the encrypted free-to-view channels disabled. This requires the user to purchase a new viewing card at the current standard charge. Sky viewing cards used to access subscription services revert to acting asFsfS viewing cards upon cancellation of the subscription. The viewing card also ensures the correct region for regionalised services forBBC One,BBC Two,ITV,Channel 4 andS4C.[citation needed]
The following is a list of free-to-view channels on theFsfS platform.[4] A viewing card is required to watch them. None of these channels are available onFreesat. BT broadband subscribers can also receive BT Sport using aFsfS viewing card.
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Freesat from Sky (FsfS) is a competitor to theBBC andITV'sFreesat service which also broadcasts from28.2°E and28.5°E and the DTT serviceFreeview.FsfS has five free-to-view channels which are not available on Freesat (see above) and a large number of free-to-air channels which are not directly listed in the Freesat EPG and need manual tuning to receive them.
FsfS has over 240 free-to-air channels on itsEPG, (which do not require either a viewing card or a Sky receiver to watch), includingBloomberg Television and theTravel Channel, compared to 198 free-to-air channels onFreesatEPG,[5] with the remaining free-to-air channels not available through the main EPG, and needing manual tuning by the user.[citation needed] Freeviewdigital terrestrial television has over 50 free-to-air channels[6] but cannot be manually tuned into the free-to-air channels available.[citation needed]FsfS also pre-tunes the boxes to the correct regional services of broadcasters who offer regional services such as theBBC,ITV andChannel 4.[7] which on Freesat requires the user to manually enter their postcode during set-up for these correct regional services.
Conversely, there are some TV channels that are on Freeview but are not on the Sky EPG, including many adult-category services. Most programming is simulcast on adult-category channels on Sky, but with different channel names and broadcast times.[citation needed]
