.png) Logo used since 2020 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
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| Programming | |
| Picture format | 2160pUHDTV (downscaled to1080i and16:9576i for theHDTV andSDTV feeds, respectively) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Sky Group (Comcast) |
| History | |
| Launched | 16 March 1996; 29 years ago (16 March 1996) |
| Closed | 4 January 2017; 8 years ago (2017-01-04) (Cinema)[1] |
| Former names | Sky Box Office (1996–2011) |
| Links | |
| Website | sky.com/boxoffice |
Sky Box Office isSky'spay-per-view (PPV) system operated in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There were three branded divisions of Sky Box Office –Sky Cinema Box Office,Sky Sports Box Office andSky 3D Box Office. Until 1 February 2011, the system ran under unified Sky Box Office branding. On 4 January 2017, all Sky Cinema Box Office channels ceased broadcasting, with onlySky Sports Box Office remaining available.[1]
Sky Box Office launched on 16 March 1996 on Sky Analogue. At the time it carried mainly sporting events, such as majorboxing fights. The first of these wasFrank Bruno's WBC World Heavyweight Championship defence againstMike Tyson. Initially events were ordered by telephone, either on the day of broadcast for £14.95 or in advance at a reduced price of £9.99. Ordering an event charged the viewer and then the subscriber's VideoCrypt viewing card would be activated over the air, enabling the viewing of the broadcast. The charge would be levied unless the viewer cancelled prior to broadcast, or returned the viewing card as proof that the event hadn't been watched. On some occasions, Box Office events would be broadcast on other Sky channels, such as Sky Sports 3.
Four dedicated Sky Box Office channels were launched on 1 December 1997 on Sky Analogue. At this time multiple showings of selected movies, shown in advance of their broadcast on Sky's existing subscription movie channels, were added. However, at least one hour pre-ordering was required, and for most movies one purchase only bought one viewing.
With the move toSky Digital in 1998, where theSky Digibox provided a data return path, events and movies – the latter now copy protected – could be bought minutes before or even during the event either by telephone or through an on-screen menu andPIN system.
Sky launched a sister pay-per-view channel in August 2001,Premiership Plus, which shown select football matches from thePremier League live. The service closed in 2007 as Sky were forced by theEuropean Union to break their broadcasting monopoly on the competition. A second sister PPV channel,F1 Digital+, was launched in 2002 in partnership withFormula One Administration Limited to offer extensive live coverage ofFormula One races. The channel was not successful and closed down at the end of the year after just a single season.
A range ofpay-per-view3-D films were also screened onSky 3D.
On 1 February 2011, Sky Box Office was rebranded as Sky Movies Box Office for movies.[2] Later in the year, Sky Sports Box Office branding was added for sports and Sky 3D Box Office for 3D.
On 4 January 2017, all Sky Cinema Box Office channels ceased broadcasting, with only Sky Sports Box Office remaining available.[1][3]
Although at launch it showed mainly sporting events, since the launch of Sky Digital, movies along with concerts became the predominant content. However, Sky Cinema Box Office's limited movie choices and relatively high prices increasingly left it suffering in comparison toonline DVD rental systems. As of 2011, films were first shown on Sky Box Office on the same day as DVD release, prior to that there was a 2 to 3-month window between DVD release and Sky Box Office release. Some films still retained the 2 to 3-month window between DVD and Sky Box Office releases. Since 2017 only sports content is available for purchase.
Content can be purchased directly through a Sky remote control. This can be accomplished by pressing "Box Office", purchase an event, confirm the order and enter the PIN if prompted. They can also be ordered online via Sky Box Office.
