How to cast Sky Go to your TV
Ididn’t see this coming. Sky has opened up ‘‘casting’’ to its Sky TV customers. For free. This means customers with a Sky TV starter package can use their mobile devices to cast live and catchup television onto their TVs.
It’s great news for Sky customers who want to take their subscriptions with them while they travel – providing they’re happy to pack a Chromecast or Apple TV device in their suitcase.
But does it make sense for Sky as a business proposition?
Yes and no … but mostly yes. Previously, Sky restricted users to watching Sky Go on smaller mobile devices and laptops. The latter could be ‘‘hacked’’ onto big-screen televisions via an HDMI cable, but it was an untidy solution.
All customers need now is a Chromecast or Apple TV and they’ll be able to throw content from their Sky Go mobile app directly onto their TV as they can with Netflix, YouTube and Spark Sport.
Although the new unshackling of Sky Go will be pleasing to traditional Sky customers, it will no doubt have a negative effect on the number of users who sign up for Sky’s similar online-only service, Sky Sports Now.
From a purely anecdotal perspective, I could now use a friend’s Sky Go account to watch the All Blacks or the Warriors on my 40-inch television in 1080p at 60 frames per second for free.
As I said, I could do this before using the laptop and HDMI cable hack, but it was enough of a hassle – literally forcing me off the couch to fiddle with wires around the back of my television – to put me off.
Why is Sky doing this? Good question. My guess, and it’s purely a guess, is because Sky has come to the conclusion that allowing (potentially) two households to share one Sky account is better than the alternative. A mass exodus of paying customers.
Again, from a purely anecdotal point of view, Sky TV now makes (more) sense for my family. We only subscribe to Sky TV – for the small fortune of $57.98 per month – to watch sport.
And with Spark Sport winning the rights to the Rugby World Cup, Black Caps cricket, the English Premier League, Formula 1, European Champions Cup Rugby and more, the issue of whether we continue to pay for Sky was in the balance.
This week’s move (probably) keeps us subscribing to Sky for the foreseeable future.
How to watch Sky Go via Chromecast and Apple TV
I’ve tested out the new Sky Go service already, and I’m impressed by the results. Streaming quality is 1080p high definition, and it seems to be running at 60 frames per second, which is a massive deal if you’re watching live sports.
Better still, it’s really easy to set up. Here’s how:
This keeps us (probably) subscribing to Sky for the foreseeable future.
Sky Go on Chromecast
First of all, make sure you’ve got the latest Sky Go app for your iPad, iPhone or Android.
Connect your Chromecast to your TV’s HDMI port and connect the USB to either your television or wall charger.
Download the free Chromecast app from the Google Play or Apple App Store.
Once you’ve installed the Chromecast app, you’ll need to follow the easy set-up process.
Make sure your Chromecast and your smartphone or tablet are connected to the same wifi network.
Open Sky Go on your mobile device and select the Chromecast icon, Sky Go should connect to your Chromecast, and you should see Sky Go on your big screen.
Sky Go on Apple TV
Make sure you’ve got the latest version of Sky Go installed on your Apple device – it will only work with devices running iOS 10.1 and above.
Connect your Apple TV to your television’s HDMI port and make sure the device has a working internet connection.
Make sure your Apple mobile device is on the same network as your Apple TV.
Turn your television to the HDMI channel that Apple TV is connected to.
Open the Sky Go app on your Apple mobile device.
Navigate to the content you want to watch, then press the AirPlay icon when you want to cast it to your television.
That’s it.