Watch sky abroad

[Hillary1]

Can i watch and access my sky abroad since i am paying for it? 

[TimmyBGood · Accepted solution]

@Hillary1 

No: Sky is a UK/RoI broadcast distribution platform, not a global streaming service.

Temporary 'portability' using Sky Go was possible within the EU for UK subscribers but ceased with Brexit: this continues for RoI users.

https://www.sky.com/help/articles/viewing-sky-content-in-the-eu-faqs 

[emmaace]

It seems SKY can provide this service as it did before BREXIT for ROI.  SKY chooses not to for some reason.

May I suggest to SKY (if anyone influential in SKY reads this):

a) this encourages SKY subscribers to use IPTV services when abroad to watch Premier League etc - we would rather be able to watch what we have paid for from SKY than some illegal set up. 

b) SKY could (maybe) charge an extra for this service to those willing to pay - although we pay enough already

c) if SKY reverts to the copyright etc arguments then surely some content could be agreed like SKY content and Premier League etc.

d) Most of us can wait to get back home to catch up on soaps etc but Sports need to be watched live.

e) Netflix, Apple TV , Amazon have no issues letting us sign in from abroad only SKY (and BBC/ITV etc).

All the above would help retain customers AND help in SKY's campaign to shut down IPTV services. (Removed)

Moderator note: Removed  campaigning comments

[Mister_Dalek]

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@emmaace wrote:

It seems SKY can provide this service as it did before BREXIT for ROI.  SKY chooses not to for some reason.

May I suggest to SKY (if anyone influential in SKY reads this):

a) this encourages SKY subscribers to use IPTV services when abroad to watch Premier League etc - we would rather be able to watch what we have paid for from SKY than some illegal set up. 

b) SKY could (maybe) charge an extra for this service to those willing to pay - although we pay enough already

c) if SKY reverts to the copyright etc arguments then surely some content could be agreed like SKY content and Premier League etc.

d) Most of us can wait to get back home to catch up on soaps etc but Sports need to be watched live.

e) Netflix, Apple TV , Amazon have no issues letting us sign in from abroad only SKY (and BBC/ITV etc).

All the above would help retain customers AND help in SKY's campaign to shut down IPTV services. (Removed)

Moderator note: Removed  campaigning comments

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Sky UK is a TV service for the UK. It is to be used in the UK. 

If you choose to go abroad, which not everyone does, then you choose to not have access to your UK TV service for the period of time you are away. 

If you choose to visit a country outside the UK but wish to watch some specific TV programme, be it sports or anything else, then you must research the local TV service for that country and find out if they are broadcasting or streaming the content you wish to watch. 

Netflix, Apple TV+, Prime Video etc, are very different services to Sky. They have geo-locked content on their platforms too. Yes, you can log in to their apps whilst abroad, but you won't necessarily get the same content you get whilst in the UK. 

[Doc5907]

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@emmaace wrote:

It seems SKY can provide this service as it did before BREXIT for ROI.  SKY chooses not to for some reason.

May I suggest to SKY (if anyone influential in SKY reads this):

a) this encourages SKY subscribers to use IPTV services when abroad to watch Premier League etc - we would rather be able to watch what we have paid for from SKY than some illegal set up. 

b) SKY could (maybe) charge an extra for this service to those willing to pay - although we pay enough already

c) if SKY reverts to the copyright etc arguments then surely some content could be agreed like SKY content and Premier League etc.

d) Most of us can wait to get back home to catch up on soaps etc but Sports need to be watched live.

e) Netflix, Apple TV , Amazon have no issues letting us sign in from abroad only SKY (and BBC/ITV etc).

All the above would help retain customers AND help in SKY's campaign to shut down IPTV services. (Removed)

Moderator note: Removed  campaigning comments

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If its football you miss on holiday then go to virtually every country in Asia and you can watch live all Premier league and some lower league games, even the 3pm Saturday games. All perfectly legally of course.

[TimmyBGood]

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@emmaace wrote:

It seems SKY can provide this service as it did before BREXIT for ROI.  SKY chooses not to for some reason.

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The EU portability regulation cleverly creates a geographically limited exemption to national copyright restrictions through which a rights owner is deemed to automatically grant distribution rights to their content within the borders of the EU to any platform with national subscribers who have viewing rights to the same content in their home EU country.

This no longer applies to UK Sky subscribers (or any other UK digital subscription service) because the UK chose to rid itself of such external meddling, and consequently Sky would need to negotiate (and pay for) overseas rights to every individual item of content and require every other channel with presence on the Go app to do the same: that's utterly unfeasible at any reasonable cost.

https://www.sky.com/help/articles/viewing-sky-content-in-the-eu-faqs 

The Republic of Ireland remains within the EU and so gets to enjoy continued access to Sky Go in any other EU nation (but not the UK) because Sky is obliged to provide this and regulation 2017/1128 facilitates it.

https://www.sky.com/help/articles/viewing-sky-content-in-the-eu-faqs-roi 

[nolte]

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@emmaace wrote:

It seems SKY can provide this service as it did before BREXIT for ROI.  SKY chooses not to for some reason.

Ireland is still in the EU and thus consumers in ireland have the same protections and rights as before.

[TimmyBGood]

@emmaace 

Occasional posts in the Go forum indicate that sometimes RoI subscribers are denied access to Go when travelling in Europe: that appears to be when a Sky system fails to acknowledge that Go access should be permitted for such users within the EU (up to the thirty days limit)

As noted, there's no right for RoI subscribers to use Go in the UK, which seems odd but is technically correct.

[TimmyBGood]

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@emmaace wrote:

e) Netflix, Apple TV , Amazon have no issues letting us sign in from abroad only SKY (and BBC/ITV etc).

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For UK subscribers, Netflix, Apple TV , Amazon etc permit access to the catalogue of content for which they have negotiated wider (non-UK) rights.  That's considerably easier for them because they have complete control of their own platforms and, frankly, can afford to do so.

As PSB services there's no legitimate overseas streaming access to iPlayer or ITVX at all: offline (previously downloaded) content is permitted.

[emmaace]

I was only hoping SKY could consider this with content it does have the rights to e.g. SKY productions?

However, this whole archane way of having rights geographically needs an overhaul. I am not suggesting costly negotiations in the current system but chaging the system. Similar with books etc e.g. there are some books you can't buy on Amazon etc if you are in the wrong country BUT you can buy in a saleable country then take with you. Similar with downloaded TV content. 

My main point is this is encouraging illegal streaming and that the whole rights thing should be centered around the viewer not the country they happen to be in. 

There are countries, Russia, China, North Korea etc that would never alow such things but in Europe/UK we should be able to agree something . We suffered enough without the freedom to work, travel and live throughout Europe. 

I can tell there is a lot of resitance to looking into this and SKY's preference is to go after the illegals but we are providing the conditions for them to thrive just like Facebook/Instagram etc does for scammers. 

BTW Netflix etc on the whole give you most stuff when you travel and some extras in that country. 

The digital world needs reviewing IMHO to help clean it up and let people pay for what they want (legal stuff that is).  Simialr challenges are present with APP stores e.g. I have Orange internet in Spain BUT cannot use the app and TV service because they only supply it on the Spanish App store and I am on the UK one.

I look fondly back to the days of a 3m dish and SKYBOX in the first decades of this century. Then it was hard to get the signal. Now we can connect anywhere but stuff is blocked instead, so people look for some way around it.

Thanks for the replies , there is a long way to go to really get behind Consumer Duty and the current copyright/IP laws and agreements. Let's all keep an open mind and focus on the customer.

[TimmyBGood]

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@emmaace wrote:

There are countries, Russia, China, North Korea etc that would never alow such things but in Europe/UK we should be able to agree something . We suffered enough without the freedom to work, travel and live throughout Europe. 

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It was agreed.  The UK chose to disagree.

[TimmyBGood]

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@emmaace wrote:

I am not suggesting costly negotiations in the current system but chaging the system. 

My main point is this is encouraging illegal streaming and that the whole rights thing should be centered around the viewer not the country they happen to be in. 

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Unfortunately that requires trans-national agreement, and we're no longer a member of the only organisation with those kinds of powers or even a forum to discuss them in. 

As I said above, the EU regulation is extremely cunning because the automatic presumption of distribution consent involves almost no extra cost to the platforms: any alternative arrangements would almost certainly be very expensive in administration time alone.

[Annie+UK]

I think most people would not want their subscription costs to increase just for a few people wanting to watch Sky when out of the country!!! 😠

[globalnomadam]

I had a discussion yesterday with a sky representative in India who told me categorically I could use my SKY Q in Italy via my laptop NOT tv. Clearly this is incorrect as only stuff that i had downloaded before would be available. Further degradation of SKY service. :-(.

[TimmyBGood]

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@globalnomadam wrote:

I had a discussion yesterday with a sky representative in India who told me categorically I could use my SKY Q in Italy via my laptop NOT tv. 

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That would be correct for a Sky account at an address in the Republic of Ireland because Sky subscription there is still covered by EU portability regulation.  It hasn't been the case for a UK account since Brexit.