Sky to launch dedicated NFL channel in September

A minimum of five live games will be shown every week, plus the playoffs, Pro Bowl and Super Bowl will all be shown live.

There will also be coverage of flagship NFL Network programming, plus documentaries and other content on the channel.

It's part of a five-year agreement and represents the first time the NFL has partnered with an international broadcaster to provide a channel dedicated to the sport.

©Sky

Sky Sports NFL

Sky Sports has a 25-year partnership with the NFL, so this dedicated channel is a natural fit for the broadcaster and further cements the range of sport they offer to fans.

Launching on 3 September ahead of the season kick-off on 10 September, Sky Sports NFL will be available to Sky Sports subscribers on Channel 407.

Coverage will include the following:

• At least five live games each week
• Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night Football
• NFL RedZone
• Playoffs, Pro Bowl and Super Bowl live
• Flagship programming from NFL Network
• Documentaries
• New weekly shows

There will also be increased coverage across Sky Sports News and the company's digital and social platforms as they devote more attention to NFL content.

Sky Sports channels

This latest channel joins the other eight sports channels currently offered by Sky Sports across their platform (all in HD):

• Sky Sports Premier League
• Sky Sports Football
• Sky Sports Cricket
• Sky Sports Golf
• Sky Sports F1
• Sky Sports Main Event
• Sky Sports Action
• Sky Sports Arena

Sky Sports NFL continues Sky's trend of dedicating channels to specific sports, and it will provide the same type of around-the-clock coverage as offered to the other sports within their own channels.

We've got more information about the other sports rights held by Sky Sports (and their rival BT Sport) or find out the cheapest ways to access Sky Sports.

Customers looking to take Sky Sports can use our free comparison tool to search for Sky Sports deals.

Changing face of Sky

Comcast acquired Sky in 2018, and it's this new firepower that has allowed Sky to bring more NFL content to UK viewers - Comcast run the NFL Network in the US.

It allows Sky to spread their reach further in terms of sports content, the diversification of channels helping their rivalry against BT Sport.

Sky TV has undergone a few notable changes already this year, with the announcement that the Disney channels will be removed from pay TV in October as Disney focus on their Disney+ streaming platform.

While Disney+ is available through the Sky Q platform, it's a separate paid service rather than one Sky sell as their own, so customers will have to pay £5.99 per month to keep watching Disney content.

Sky have added new channels to keep their listings fresh as they launched Sky Documentaries and Sky Nature earlier this year. This followed previous launches of Sky Crime and Sky Comedy.

It seems to represent a pattern of dedicating channels to specific subjects which enables viewers to quickly flick between channels which may have content that's interesting to them.

In an unusual move, Sky announced a few weeks ago they were making Sky Arts a free to air channel rather than being part of its pay TV stable of channels.

Read more in our full review of Sky TV.