What channels are on Sky Sports?

Jonathan Victoria • 10 Jul 2024 Guides

A different home for every sport available on Sky…

Sky Sports is home to many exclusive sports, with the likes of Formula 1, PGA Tour golf and ATP/WTA Tour tennis highlighting the great and exciting action that can be found only on their channels.

Sky Sports has a lot to offer, and thankfully, Sky makes things very easy with its dedicated channels that host the different sports.

With that, let’s take a look at what channels are on Sky Sports.

How many channels make up Sky Sports?

Sky Sports is comprised of 12 channels in total. Three of the channels are available as part of the basic Sky TV package, while the other nine are available as part of the premium package.

Sky Sports channels & numbers

Sky Sports previously had a numbered system for their channels, going from Sky Sports 1 to Sky Sports 5. It wasn’t clear which live event would be hosted on which channel, although there were some that were more primarily focused on certain sports, i.e. Sky Sports 5 was dedicated primarily to European Football.

In 2011, Sky acquired the rights to Formula 1 racing from 2012 to 2018, sharing it with BBC who had around half of the events each season. With this deal, Sky introduced a new dedicated channel, known then and still operational now as Sky Sports F1, becoming the first single-sport dedicated channel.

It wasn’t until 2017 that Sky re-aligned its sports channels, moving away from the numbered services in turn for dedicated channels that are still in place.

Sky Sports Main Event | 401

Main Event is Sky Sports’ flagship channel, the showcase if you will, as it hosts major live events that are on at that time. 

Events such as Premier League games and the final day of a PGA Tour golf major championship are often shown. When there’s no live event, the channel simulcasts Sky Sports News.

Sky Sports Premier League | 402

Sky could be credited as the reason for the creation of the Premier League as they offered higher television rights for a new top-flight league back in 1992.

Now, Sky Sports still has the most broadcasting rights to the Prem, hosting more games than any other provider. The dedicated Premier League channel shows live coverage of matches alongside Main Event (when also on there).

When there’s no live game on, it typically broadcasts documentaries such as Premier League Years, which looks back at previous seasons. The Women’s Super League, the top division of English women’s football, can also be found here.

Sky Sports Football | 403

For everything non-Premier League, Sky Sports Football is on hand. Games from the EFL Championship and Scotting Premiership are the main highlights for the channel.

When there are no live games, you can typically find replays of old iconic matches or EFL play-off finals from yesteryear, as well as highlights shows and league round-ups.

Sky Sports Cricket | 404

Sky Sports Cricket is the home for much of the cricket world's top competitions, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) and The Hundred.

It is also the exclusive home of ICC (International Cricket Council) cricket, with the biggest events in international cricket like the ICC Cricket World Cup and ICC T20 World Cup.

Sky Sports Golf | 405

The PGA Tour is the leading tour in golf, and along with the associated LPGA and European Tour, Sky Sports Golf is the place where you can watch every event live.

Other than live events, there are often tip shows and a program called Golf Academy, both of which are hosted by a member of the Sky Sports Golf team.

Sky Sports F1 | 406

One of Sky’s premiere sports channels, Sky Sports F1 is the exclusive home of Formula 1 in the UK, showing every round live, including practice sessions, qualifying and uninterrupted race coverage.

It also hosts coverage of every round of the Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships, plus the IndyCar Series.

Away from the track, there is a range of programming to keep fans interested, including Ted’s Notebook during race weekends and the F1 Show during the week which talks about the biggest talking points at that time.

Sky Sports Tennis | 407

The newest channel to the collection, Sky Sports Tennis hosts the events that are part of the ATP and WTA Tours, including the US Open but unfortunately not the other three major championships.

There is typically always an event on for either the ATP or WTA Tour, so you can expect a steady stream of live tennis of all levels on the channel.

Sky Sports Action | 408

Sky Sports Action is one of the two channels that showcases a number of different sports, such as NFL (American Football), British netball and more.

Outside of live sports, you can find the usual documentaries and supporting content to keep the channel going throughout the day.

Sky Sports News | 409

Sky Sports’ dedicated news network, providing around the clock news and updates from across all of sports. It is one of Sky Sports’ free channels, meaning anyone with Sky TV has access to it.

Sky Sports+ | 412

The newest channel and offering in the Sky Sports lineup (more on it below). Previously named Sky Sports Arena, the channel was rebranded to Sky Sports+ when it was introduced in August.

Sky Sports Racing | 415

The second free Sky Sports channel, Sky Racing is dedicated to horse racing coverage. Racing goes on all year round, and Sky Sports has coverage of many of these events.

Sky Sports News coverage is shown when there is no live racing going on.

Sky Sports Mix | 416

The third free Sky Sports channel, Sky Sports Mix hosts a range of live sports, often not the most major ones, as well as supplementary programming from across the network.

Sky Sports+

Sky Sports+ is a new dedicated channel coming to Sky in August. It will bring with it a lot more sports coverage - over 50% more, in fact!

The new channel will be the hub for lots more football, mainly from the English Football League (EFL), with all 72 teams from the Championship down to League Two featuring over 20 times a season, plus every Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy fixture live. In all, Sky Sports+ will bring over 1000 live EFL games a season!

In addition, you’ll find every match from the Men’s Rugby Super League on there, along with 100 tennis events from the ATP and WTA Tours and the US Open, plus a lot more insightful coverage from other sports already available.

Sky Sports+ will provide a new dedicated channel to watch but will also be integrated into the Sky Sports app, where you can get the full experience of up to 100 live events shown concurrently!

New and enhanced features will be brought to the app for a more immersive and overal better viewing experience. A refreshed design and navigation will also make it easier for you to find exactly what it is you want to watch.

Sky Sports+ is set to launch this August, beginning with the first round of the EFL season, with the Championship, League One and League Two all kicking off on 9th August.

How to watch Sky Sports

Sky Sports is a must-have for sports fans simply for the amount of live sports on offer across its channels.

Thankfully, there are numerous ways you can get Sky Sports, even if you aren’t a Sky customer.

Sky Sports on Sky

Sky Sports packages are very common with the company and will come with a full subscription so you can have access to all the channels in HD.

These packages are a great option for new customers, but for existing Sky TV customers who don’t already have it, there is an add-on that allows you to include Sky Sports to your pre-existing Sky TV package.

This add-on is available either on an 18-month contract or a 30-day rolling contract, with the latter bringing you the freedom to add and remove it whenever you’d like.

Sky Glass & Stream

New and existing Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers can choose from pre-made packages or the Sky Sports add-on to gain access to the range of channels.

Sky Q

For Sky Q customers, Sky Sports can be added on to your package on a 24-month contract only. The channels will be in standard definition, though. If you want the HD channels, you’d need to add the HD or Ultra HD + HD add-on, both of which come on 31-day rolling contracts.

Sky Sports on NOW

NOW TV offers memberships that gain you access to Sky TV, including Sky Sports, Sky Cinema and Sky Entertainment.

The Sports Membership brings you all 12 Sky Sports channels in full HD and is available either on a day membership (24-hour access) or monthly rolling membership that comes with no contract so you can cancel whenever you’d like.

The NOW TV app is available on most platforms and devices so you can watch Sky Sports on NOW TV wherever you can.

Sky Sports on BT

Sky Sports is available for BT customers on EE TV. It can come as part of the Full Works + Fibre 2 package or be added to your chosen package or for pre-existing BT EE TV customers.

Sky Sports on EE TV is available through NOW TV, so you are essentially purchasing a NOW Sports Membership, only it is through BT so it is still included in one bill.

Sky Sports on Virgin Media

Just like with BT but with more options, there are various Virgin media packages to choose from that include Sky Sports, but you can also add it on to customise your chosen package or to your pre-existing Virgin Media TV package.