Sky, Comcast’s cable TV broadcaster in the United Kingdom, plans to cut 1,000 jobs as more viewers move from satellite TV to streaming services.
Cord cutting has hit the cable industry hard and resulted in layoffs and closures for many companies. In 2023, at least five cable TV companies announced they would shut down or move to a streaming service. It’s likely the trend will continue in 2024.
The layoffs make up about 4% of Sky’s workforce, and a majority of the impacted positions will include technicians who install satellite dishes and make repairs, according to Sky News.
With more customers moving to Sky’s digital-only services, the company has less need for engineers that handle physical installations.
“The launch of Sky Glass and Sky Stream represents a shift in our business to deliver TV over IP (an internet connection) rather than satellite. Increasingly, customers are choosing Sky Glass and Sky Stream which don’t require specialist installation, and that has led us to change the number of roles we need to deliver our services,” a Sky spokesperson told Sky News.
It’s unclear at this time whether the unfinalized 1,000 figure will change or what other jobs may be affected.
Comcast purchased Sky in 2018 for $40 billion and released the Sky Glass Smart TV — which came with the Sky Stream service — in 2021. The cordless option became increasingly popular with Sky’s customers.
Sky wasn’t immediately available for comment.
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