Sky Italia is an Italian
digital satellite television platform owned by
News Corporation launched on 31
July 2003. It is similar in many ways to BSkyB's Sky Digital in the United Kingdom
and Ireland
, and like that network it is a major sports
broadcaster.
Pay TV services on Sky Italia are encrypted
in
NDS Videoguard. The provided Videoguard decoders are
identical to the
Digibox used in the UK.
PACE,
Amstrad and
Thomson, all Digibox licencsors, produce
Sky Italia boxes (SKYBOX) identical to their Digibox offerings,
albeit with different branding and the potential removal of the
second card slot and UHF modulator. In addition, other providers
such as
Italtel and Access Media produce
Sky Italia boxes but not Digiboxes.
On the 22 November 2005 Sky Italia introduced MySky - based on a
new digital receiver with HDD recording capabilities and surround
sound output (not previously available on the normal decoder). This
service is provided at an extra charge. The service is functionally
identical to the
BSkyB Sky+. Subsequently, an HD (High Definition) receiver
and an HD+ (High Definition with HDD recorder) receiver were
added.
Sky Italia offers four packages of channels: the base-level
'Mondo', and the optional 'Cinema', 'Sport' and 'Calcio'
enhancements. Mondo, comprises some 30 entertainment, music,
children's, culture, international channels, free-to-air news
services and some sports channels. The Cinema package contains 9
all-movies channels. The Sport package contains Sky Sport 1, 2, 3,
Extra, 16:9, Eurosport, Eurosport 2 and Yacht&Sail.
The Calcio
package comprises 14 channels covering football, the most popular sport in
Italy. In addition the 'Prima Fila' service offers
pay-per-view movies, sports events and adult content.
On some channels, (excluding the terrestrials) foreign-sourced
content is broadcast either with an option to choose between
Italian and original language soundtracks, or with Italian
subtitles.
Sky Italia uses the
Hot Bird 7A/8 satellite
at 13.0°E.
Channels
See also
Sky HD
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