Customers of Sky’s broadband-based Sky Glass and Sky Stream pay TV streaming devices have finally got access to the provider’s new Ad-Skipping feature, which is an add-on pack that appears to have been introduced alongside Sky’s latest firmware update (e.g. QS34.022.00P on Sky Glass).
The new update, which started to be rolled out last week, also included various other bug fixes and feature additions (e.g. a new Extra-vivid viewing mode and various tweaks to the User Interface). But the headline change was arguably the introduction of ad-skipping, which is only available with their “On Demand” content (i.e. not cloud recordings or within apps, with a few specific exceptions).
“Skip Ads will pop up in the bottom right corner at the start of an ad break. Once it’s clicked it will skip the ads completely. This will stop the need for you to manually fast forward through ads,” said Sky’s Update Notice. Customers can also fast-forward through adverts when using Live Pause (up to the live broadcast only), Restart / ‘Watch from start’ and Playlist.
In addition, it’s also possible to fast-forward adverts in the ITVX, STV Player and All4 TV apps, but those are the exceptions. “The Ad Skipping pack doesn’t mean that you won’t see any adverts. It just lets you skip or fast forward through the ads using the relevant remote control buttons and on screen menu options for what you’re watching. It doesn’t fast forward ads in: Live TV; or other TV apps, like Netflix, YouTube or Spotify,” said Sky.