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Sky: ‘We’ll do 4K and UltraViolet if there’s an opportunity’

Sky has given a cautious thumbs up to both 4K and UltraViolet in the near future – provided the circumstances are right. 

While not confirming that Sky would be lanching 4K – aka Ultra HD – broadcasts and movie downloads any time soon, Rob Webster, commercial group director, Sky revealed that the company has been considering them. 

Webster told those attending DTG Summit 2013 that these services could see the light of day if the demand was high enough and it added to the customer experience. 

Sky: ‘We’ll do 4K and Ultraviolet if there’s an opportunity’
4K? Yay or nay? We may. But not today.

Read Recombu Digital’s guide to 4K Ultra HD and 8K Super Hi-Vision

When asked if Sky was looking into launching 4K Ultra HD, Webster said:

“With technological advances such as Ultra HD, we always keep an eye out. We have a bunch of very clever people at Sky whose job it is to look out for the next big thing… We will always seeks to be at the vanguard of technological advances if we see a genuine opportunity to embrace that technology and grow it to scale.”

When later asked if Sky would consider launching UltraViolet as a companion service to Sky Go, whereby customers could buy content to download and keep forever, Webster said:

“UltraViolet is on the list of things that the guys of Sky are looking at, but I don’t have anything that I can announce or confirm today.”

Read Recombu Digital’s guide to Ultraviolet

Sky Go Extra which costs £5/month lets you download Sky TV shows for later viewing, but downloads expire after a month. Ultraviolet is the system that gives you a free digital copy of a film when you buy DVDs or Blu-rays. It’s been launched to let people easily back up their film collections and as an attempt to help curb piracy.

Previously, Sky has announced that it’s started work on producing 4K shows and hinted that transmissions could be on our screens sooner than we think. The current Sky+ HD box however isn’t 4K-compatible. so users would have to upgrade to a newer service if they want to get some next-gen high-definition football action.

Elsewhere, Sky’s been less charitable about UltraViolet in the past, suggesting that downloads of Game of Thrones to keep for life might not happen. Perhaps, to paraphrase the TV show’s Greyjoy characters, what is dead may never Sky.

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