Sky's UHD service confirmed for summer arrival

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Sky Q will launch UHD 'in the summer' according to the company's director of strategy, Nick Herm, and a new Now TV box with a digital tuner is also on the way.

Hern, speaking at the Connected TV Summit, confirmed what the world had assumed, namely that the UHD service that the Sky Q is ready to embrace but not yet enabled to do, would coincide with the Premier League season.

According to DigitalTV Europe, Herm also confirmed that voice control would be coming to the Sky Q platform.

Upsell

Sky's decision to hold back UHD despite the high-profile launch of Sky Q is quite probably a sensible one, although early adopters are inevitably champing at the bit for the service.

With BT offering UHD sport already, tying it in with the Premier League package that remains a cornerstone of Sky's strategy will give the service a secondary push to a big chunk of its audience.

With UHD 4K televisions becoming familiar sights in the home, if not proliferating just yet, Sky will hope that offering the service alongside the critically acclaimed Sky Q fluid viewing system will be an attractive proposition.

The other major revelation from Herm was that a new Now TV box was on the way with a digital tuner enabling live television broadcasts.

"The barrier to taking this product will be very low," he said.

• Read our Sky Q review