owned by sky plc picture format 576i 16 9 sdtv 1080i hdtv 2160i uhdtv audience share 0.91 % 1 0.40 % 2 0.06 % 3 0.11 % 4 0.08 % 5 0.00 % all active feeds february 2016 2016 02 barb slogan your home of sport replaced the sports channel sister channel s challenge pick real lives sky 1 sky 2 sky arts sky atlantic sky cinema sky cinema box office sky living sky news sky sports f1 sky sports news hq website skysports.com availability satellite sky channel 401 to 405 1 sd hd to 5 sd hd channel 407 mix sd hd channel 409 435 436 439 440 1 to 5 channel 472 mix on demand cable virgin media uk channel 501 to 505 1 hd to 5 hd channel 507 mix sd hd channel 511 to 515 1 to 5 channel 517 mix sky anytime virgin media ireland channel 430 mix hd channel 432 to 436 1 hd to 5 hd channel 105 400 mix channel 402 to 406 1 to 5 iptv talktalk tv channel 402 to 406 1 to 5 bt tv channel 437 and 438 1 hd and 2 hd channel 402 403 and 406 1 2 and 5 streaming media sky go watch live uk and ireland only virgin tv anywhere watch live uk only now tv watch live uk only sky sports is a group of sports television channels operated by the satellite pay tv company sky plc. sky sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the united kingdom and ireland . it has played a major role in the increased commercialisation of british sport since 1991 sometimes playing a large role in inducing organisational changes in the sports it broadcasts most notably when it encouraged the premier league to break away from the football league in 1992 . sky sports 1 2 3 4 and 5 are available as a premium package on top of the basic sky package . these channels are also available as premium on nearly every satellite cable and iptv broadcasting system in the uk and ireland . sky sports news hq and sky sports mix are both provided as part of basic packages . the sky sports network is managed by barney francis . contents 1 before bskyb 1.1 eurosport 1989 1991 1.2 the sports channel 1990 1991 2 sky sports channels 2.1 the early years 1991 1998 sky sports original channels 2.1.1 sky sports 2.1.2 sky sports 2 2.1.3 sky sports gold 2.1.4 sky sports 3 2.2 expansion of sky sports channels 2.2.1 sky sports news hq 2.2.2 sky sports 4 2.2.3 sky sports 5 2.2.4 sky sports f1 2.2.5 sky sports mix 2.2.6 sky sports news radio 2.3 temporary channels 2.4 at the races 2.5 defunct channels 3 sky digital 1998 present 4 technological advances 4.1 sky sports hd channels 4.2 sky 3d 4.2.1 3d broadcasting tests 4.3 4k uhd 4.3.1 4k broadcasting tests 5 programming 5.1 football 5.1.1 club football 5.1.1.1 premier league 5.1.1.2 efl 5.1.1.3 scotland 5.1.1.4 la liga 5.1.1.5 major league soccer 5.1.1.6 eredivisie 5.1.1.7 chinese super league 5.1.2 international football 5.1.3 supplementary programming 5.1.3.1 soccer am 5.1.3.2 soccer saturday 5.1.3.3 sunday supplement 5.1.3.4 goals on sunday 5.1.3.5 fantasy football club 5.1.4 football presenters pundits and commentators 5.1.4.1 presenters 5.1.4.2 pundits 5.1.4.3 commentators 5.2 cricket 5.3 rugby union 5.4 rugby league 5.5 motorsport 5.5.1 formula one 5.6 tennis 5.7 golf 5.7.1 major championships 5.7.2 world golf championships 5.7.3 pga tour 5.7.4 european tour 5.7.5 ryder cup 5.8 darts 5.9 boxing 5.10 wwe 5.10.1 wwe shows on sky 5.11 gaelic games 5.12 ice hockey 6 summary of sports rights 6.1 football 6.2 cricket 6.3 rugby union 6.4 tennis 6.5 golf 6.6 motorsport 6.7 boxing 6.8 athletics 6.9 rugby league 6.10 horse racing 6.11 equestrianism 6.12 darts 6.13 cycling 6.14 triathlon 6.15 gridiron american football 6.16 gaelic games 6.17 netball 6.18 badminton 6.19 bowls 7 previous coverage 7.1 football 7.2 rugby union 7.3 tennis 8 andy gray and richard keys dismissals 9 references 10 external links before bskyb edit eurosport 1989 1991 edit at launch on 5 february 1989 sky television operated eurosport as a 50 50 joint venture with the european broadcasting union . the channel was marketed as one of sky s four channels upon its launch although additional sports programmes such as long running international cricket coverage was occasionally broadcast on sky channel . however the service had encountered a legal challenge from rival sports channel screensport a joint venture between wh smith television and america s espn network . subtitled as the european sports network the channel was also available on the astra satellite and available to early sky viewers . screensport s contention was that the involvement of the ebu with sky s eurosport channel had the effect of restricting and distorting competition in the sports market . 1 the european commission agreed and the eurosport joint venture ceased broadcasting in early 1991 . screensport s victory was to be short lived as eurosport would within months return under new ownership this time with french broadcaster tf1 in sky s place as 50 % shareholder and screensport would eventually merge with the revived eurosport in march 1993 . sky s involvement with sports broadcasting did not end with its exit from the eurosport venture since following the merger of sky television with british satellite broadcasting in november 1990 it had acquired the name and assets from bsb s service the sports channel . the sports channel 1990 1991 edit the sports channel launched 25 march 1990 closed 20 april 1991 renamed by sky sports owned by bsb 1990 bskyb 1990 1991 availability at time of closure satellite analogue marcopolo 1 11.93846 the sports channel was part of the bsb channel line up . launching in april 1990 . the sports channel survived bsb s merger with sky television to become one of the five channels operated by the consolidated british sky broadcasting . in the bsb years it shared the same frequency with its underpromoted sister channel the computer channel which broadcast in the mornings when the sports channel was off air . sky sports channels edit the early years 1991 1998 sky sports original channels edit sky sports edit the sports channel was renamed sky sports on 20 april 1991 and began broadcasting to sky viewers via the newly launched astra 1b satellite on that date alongside its existing transmissions on bsb s marcopolo satellite . the channel was sold as one of the major draws of the sky system and initially aired sports such as rugby and golf in 1991 before acquiring rights to german and italian league football in 1996 both carried over from the sports channel . the channel was initially encrypted but broadcast free to view requiring an analogue videocrypt decoder but no paid subscription to be viewed . since videocrypt decoders were only officially available within the uk this measure was intended to prevent viewing of the service outside the uk and ireland . however it was following the formation of the premier league for the 1992 93 football season believed to have been assisted by the promise of higher tv payments that sky sports became well known . by bidding 304m bskyb beat the bbc and itv to acquire the live and exclusive premier league football broadcasting rights for the united kingdom and ireland for a five year period . in doing so they had taken live top flight english league football from terrestrial and free to air television for the first time in its history . at this point sky sports became a subscription channel available with a monthly subscription on a standalone basis or at a reduced price if taken with sky s movie channels . sky sports 1 mainly broadcasts football . sky sports 2 edit sky launched its second sport dedicated channel sky sports 2 on 19 august 1994 three years after the original channel launched on the marcopolo satellite on bsb . as a result sky sports was renamed as sky sports 1 . sky sports 2 mainly broadcasts cricket and rugby union . sky sports gold edit sky sports gold a channel dedicated to classic sport in a similar vein to espn classic launched on 1 november 1995 . however the channel ceased broadcasting after only a year on the air . sky sports 3 edit on 16 august 1996 sky sports 3 was launched . the launch promotion involved many top sporting figures such as dennis bergkamp and ryan giggs to help the launch of the channel . sky sports also acquired the rights to scottish football and the coca cola cup . sky sports 3 mainly broadcasts tennis and american sporting events such as the nfl and wwe . expansion of sky sports channels edit since the launch of sky digital the number of sky sports channels has increased from the three carried over from its analogue service . sky sports news hq edit main article sky sports news hq sky sports news hq is a 24 hour sports news channel operated by sky sports . sky sports news launched on 1 october 1998 with sky digital becoming bskyb s first digital only channel . on 10 april 2000 sky sports news relaunched as skysports.com tv a move to bring it tie into the launch of the skysports.com website . however the name was soon reverted to sky sports news . the channel replaced sky sports centre a news show at 18 00 devoted to the key events in the sporting world . current presenters on the channel include natalie sawyer jim white and millie clode . another show on sky sports news hq is soccer saturday hosted by jeff stelling and analysed by matt le tissier paul merson phil thompson and charlie nicholas as well as match reports from iain dowie chris kamara alan mcinally peter stevenson paul walsh kevin watson bianca westwood and matt murray among others . on 5 august 2007 the channel was refreshed in line with the sky sports new look . the channel was again given a new look on 23 august 2010 of its own accord gaining a significant graphics overhaul and broadcast in widescreen and hd for the first time . the overhaul also coincided with the channel s upgrade to a pay channel including its removal from freeview . it was rebranded as sky sports news hq on 12 august 2014 . sky sports 4 edit sky sports 4 originally launched as sky sports xtra is the fourth sports channel launched by sky . it airs repeats and live events of many sky sports programmes such as la liga . the channel launched in april 1999 and is a free bonus channel for those who subscribe to both sky sports 1 and sky sports 2 . the name xtra rather than sky sports 4 was chosen as the original intention of the channel was to simulcast sporting events showing on the main channels with the addition of interactive services . the channel has stopped simulcasting and the interactive services have moved to the main sky sports channels . sky sports 4 now shows live and recorded sports events and is in effect a fourth main sky sports channel . in light of this on 6 january 2010 sky sports xtra was renamed sky sports 4 . in 2011 sky sports xtra returned as a subscriber only video channel on skysports.com . sky sports 4 mainly broadcasts golf . sky sports 5 edit on 10 june 2014 sky announced that they would be launching sky sports 5 . the channel was the seventh sky sports channel to launch and specialise in broadcasting european football including uefa european championship qualifiers la liga and the eredivisie . sky sports 5 appeared on the sky epg as channel 407 on 12 june 2014 . sky sports 5 launched on 12 august 2014 . 2 the first match