The age of satellite TV is ending – Sky Q is finished and Sky Stream is the future

Sky Q can no longer be ordered online
Existing subscribers need not worry about losing service
Sky recommends Sky Glass and Sky Stream

It’s time to raise a glass to the dearly departed: Sky Q is no longer a new product you can buy, signaling the beginning of the end for British satellite TV.

According to ISP Review, the Sky Store is now informing potential Q buyers that Sky Q is no longer available to buy, and is directing them to the Sky Stream and Sky Glass products instead. The Sky Q page now says: “We’ve disconnected Sky Q. Join Sky Stream for less”.

It’s not a huge surprise – the writing has been on the wall since Sky Stream launched in 2022, and Sky Q has become less and less visible since – but it’s still a significant milestone.

You can read our Sky Stream review for more on how well that box works, as well as our reviews of the Sky Glass 2nd Gen and Sky Glass Air, which are the other options Sky would love for you to choose.

Potential Sky Q buyers are instead directed to Sky Glass and Sky Stream. (Image credit: Future)

Why is Sky Q gone?

The company we now know as Sky began broadcasting via satellite to the UK in 1989 with four channels: Sky Channel, a general interest channel; Eurosport; Sky News; and Sky Movies. Over the years, it expanded the line-up dramatically, and for those of us who lived outside of cable TV regions, it was the only way to upgrade the four-channel lineup of broadcast TV.

It also became something of a status symbol: I remember being very impressed and extremely jealous of my school friends whose parents subscribed not just to the basic Sky package, but to the singing and dancing plans with more channels than you could ever hope to see.

The reason for the switch to broadband TV is simple: satellite broadcasting is expensive and the current crop of satellites are reaching the end of their 15-year life expectancy. With so many of us already on Internet-based streaming, there isn’t a huge market for satellite like there was in previous decades. And that means there is no desire to invest big money for what would be small returns.

If you’re a current Sky Q subscriber, don’t worry: they won’t be pulling the plug on your service or pulling the dish from your chimney just yet. It’s likely we’ll still have satellite broadcasts until the end of the decade, possibly even longer – although you can read what it’s like to switch from Sky Q to Sky Stream here.

But it is clear that the satellite age of TV is over. We have seen the future and it is flowing.

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