Sky Q: under-pressure broadcaster tries to change what’s on the box

The company's hi-tech TV viewing system is a necessary riposte to burgeoning rivals in a complex multiscreen world

When Sky launched its pay-TV platform in the UK, it was the outsider in the broadcast industry. But now it is part of the media establishment, and last week's launch of its new set-top box was the first move in its fight against a new breed of rivals. Sky Q is its response to the gauntlet Apple threw down in September. Launching a revamped version of the company's Apple TV set-top box, Apple chief executive Tim Cook proclaimed: "The future of TV is apps."

But Sky's forthcoming "Q" service is aimed at a very different future from the one targeted by Apple, Google, Amazon and Roku. Those services all have streaming set-top boxes that would make broadcast TV channels just another app icon to pick.

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