Sky TV viewers will 'lose access' to ITV from Thursday

If you're still watching television on an older Sky set-top box, you will lose access to ITV1 and ITV2 in Standard Definition (SD) on Thursday, October 3, 2024

Some Sky TV viewers will lose access to ITV within days as the final deadline is confirmed. If you're still watching television on an older Sky set-top box, you will lose access to ITV1 and ITV2 in Standard Definition (SD) on Thursday, October 3, 2024.

It comes two weeks after ITV announced it would be closing its last remaining standard definition (SD) channels on satellite in October. Sky has now confirmed that its satellite viewers will lose access to ITV1 SD and ITV2 SD on Thursday October 3, 2024.

From this date onwards, ITV channels will be exclusively available in HD-only on satellite. This comes nearly nine months after the BBC switched off its SD satellite channels. All ITV HD channels are available on a free-to-air basis, it has confirmed.

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Viewers with Sky Q and Sky+HD boxes will also lose access to ITV SD channels, found on channel 803 and 816 on the channel list. Sky Q and Sky+HD already offer the full ITV regional service in HD on 103. ITV will continue to broadcast in standard definition (SD) on Freeview.

ITV is already HD-only on Sky Stream and Sky Glass. ITV said: "Here at ITV, we have completed our upgrade to all-HD on satellite for ITV1, bringing the best picture quality to all satellite viewers. From October 2024, households with an SD-only satellite set-top box will need to upgrade to a High Definition (HD) satellite receiver to continue to watch ITV1. ITV1 and ITV2 nationally will no longer be available in SD on satellite.

"With all Sky customers being moved to HD boxes, this potentially affects a very small number of people - non-Sky customers with older SD-only set-top boxes (at most c1% of all satellite homes). ITV’s closure of SD services on satellite follows the BBC's closure of all satellite SD services earlier this year.

"There are no changes on Freeview and Virgin Media and satellite viewers with HD boxes are unaffected. You can upgrade your box by contacting your provider. If you are unsure if you have an SD-only box your provider will also be able to help."