Fury as five new TV channels on Sky are DELAYED leaving viewers ‘really disappointed’
SKY customers have been left baffled after five highly anticipated new channels failed to materialise on the date they were supposed to launch.
A bunch of new music channels were expected to land on TVs last week to fill the void from a wave of closures earlier in the year.
Music fans were dealt a massive blow when The Box, Kerrang, Kiss, 4Music and Magic all closed over the summer.
Owners Channel 4 decided to axe the channels amid a round of cuts, affecting not only Sky but Virgin Media, Freeview and Freesat.
The Box was the longest running of the group, having been on-air for 32 years.
The move has left a huge gap in music coverage on the TV guide.
But it was most noticeable on Sky Glass and Sky Stream, Sky’s dishless alternative that relies Wi-Fi.
With fewer music channels, it now only has four, all operated by MTV.
Another major music broadcaster comes in the form of the NOW music channels, which derive from the once-popular Now That’s What I Call Music compilation CDs.
NOW operates five channels: NOW 70s, NOW 80s, NOW ROCK, NOW 90s and 00s and Clubland TV.
But these have only been available on satellite and Virgin Media.
The five channels were supposed to finally land on Sky Glass and Sky Stream last week.
However, viewers were surprised to find they never arrived.
“I was under the impression that five new music channels were supposed to be added today, but I can’t work out how you add them to the sky stream device,” one user wrote on Sky’s website.
“I will tell you what, I’m really disappointed with the new music channels not being up on the air yet,” a second added.
A Sky rep responded to the concerns reminding customers that launches are subject to change.
“Due to a technical issue, it was not possible to launch the music channels yesterday and the launch has been postponed,” the Sky rep explained.
“Once the issue has been resolved, a new launch date will be provided.”
When the channels do launch, they should be found on the following numbers:
- Clubland TV – 354
- NOW 70s – 355
- NOW 80s – 356
- NOW XMAS – 357 (temporary name, reverts to NOW 90s and 00s in 2025)
- NOW ROCK – 358
More ways to get music on your Sky Glass TV now
While you wait for the new music channels to arrive, you might want to try these other free services instead.
Xumo Play is an app on Sky Glass and Sky Stream that provides access to an extra 70 or so channels.
Among them is a host of music channels.
There’s also the Vevo app that lets you select and play music videos on demand.
Why have music channels disappeared?
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
Music channels were once the highlight for teens to catch iconic videos with MTV, VH1 and The Box among the many names on screens.
Who remembers paying a couple of quid to request a song? Only to wait ages for it to appear.
Those days are long gone thanks to instant internet access to any song or video you want.
And so with it, the music channels have slowly died off.
VH1 disappeared from the UK years ago, as did Smash Hits – then we lost The Box, Kerrang, Kiss, 4Music and Magic.
Despite dwindling numbers there is clearly still an audience for music video lovers on TV – even if it’s just background filler – with the expansion of the NOW channels.