I wrote recently about how I thought Sky Q was doing great work in bringing some sort of order to the online streaming war, with it acting as the ideal hub through which people could reach their favourite content from Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime Video and other streaming services.
There's one major streaming service that Sky Q doesn't offer access to, though, either via an app or through actual system-level user interface integration – Apple TV. And in my mind that's a big miss for two reasons.
Firstly, Apple TV's content is really coming into its own now, with some hit shows breaking through culturally into the mainstream, such as The Morning Show, Ted Lasso, Defending Jacob and Tehran. While other shows like Central Park and Mythic Quest show plenty of promise.
Having access to this content through the Sky Q set top box would be great (especially so if show search was baked directly into UI), and it would streamline the process for Sky customers to get watching these shows markedly, while also cutting out the need for additional hardware to enjoy them on the big screen.
The second reason it is a miss is that it could really help increase subscriber numbers if Apple TV was offered in some sort of bundle deal, just like Sky Q is with Netflix right now.
I've written a few times that I think this bundling of streaming services is something I would like to see more of, as the discount makes it easier for people to justify multiple streaming service subscriptions. If Apple TV was offered along with Sky Q for an overall discounted fee, it would make it more tempting for a lot of people.
Because, the thing is, that while Apple TV's content selection is strong in terms of quality, it isn't very deep, which I am sure must have an effect on subscriber numbers.
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But if Apple TV was offered built in to the Sky TV experience, and even discounted alongside it, then paying a bit extra for those quality shows alongside Sky's huge content selection wouldn't seem such a big leap.
As to if we will see the Apple TV integration in Sky Q any time soon, nothing official at all is known or has been announced. However, a few rumors such as this one from a few months back have indicated the app is coming.
Hopefully, then, we'll see an official announcement from Sky and Apple soon.
Rob has been writing about computing, gaming, mobile, home entertainment technology, toys (specifically Lego and board games), smart home and more for over 15 years. As the editor of PC Gamer, and former Deputy Editor for T3.com, you can find Rob's work in magazines, bookazines and online, as well as on podcasts and videos, too. Outside of his work Rob is passionate about motorbikes, skiing/snowboarding and team sports, with football and cricket his two favourites.
