The Ad Skipping TV pack allows you to fast-forward adverts on Sky Glass and Sky Stream. Find out how it works and the limitations of it.
In the UK, you’ll pay £5 per month for the Ad Skipping pack on Sky Glass and Sky Stream. This will allow you to fast-forward adverts when you restart live TV programmes, in playlists and when you watch Sky’s on-demand content. You’ll also be able to fast-forward adverts in the ITVX, STV Player, All4 and other selected apps.
In this article, we’ll look at the Ad Skipping pack for Sky Glass and Sky Stream, including how it works and the limitations of it. We’ll also look at the best Sky TV deals with and without the Ad Skipping pack.
See Sky TV with Ad Skipping deals →
Contents
Ad Skipping on Sky TV
If you’re a Sky TV customer with the £5 per month Ad Skipping pack, you’ll be able to fast-forward adverts when using the following features:
- Restart (watch from start): If you’re restarting a live TV programme, the Ad Skipping pack will allow you to fast-forward through the adverts.
- Playlist: You’ll be able to fast-forward adverts when watching programmes from your playlist.
- Sky On Demand: If you’re watching Sky’s own on-demand content (e.g. from Sky Box Sets), you’ll also be able to fast-forward through the ads.
Ads can be fast-forward at up to 30x speed, either using the buttons on your remote control or using the voice control feature. If you’re using your remote control, it can be a bit of a faff as you’ll need to watch very closely to make sure you don’t miss the start of the programme. As an alternative, you can be a bit more precise when you use the voice control feature (e.g. using a voice command like “Hello Sky, skip 3 minutes”).
You’ll still get adverts when you watch live TV broadcasts. However, you’ll be able to fast-forward through them when you use the Live Pause feature (up to the current live broadcast). However, this fast-forward feature in Live Pause is available for all customers, regardless of whether you have the Ad Skipping pack.
The Ad Skipping pack is not available if you’re a Sky Q customer (if you get Sky TV channels through your satellite dish). On Sky Q, you can record up to 500 hours of television. Your Sky Q subscription will then allow you to fast-forward through these recordings as required.
Ad Skipping in Apps
Alongside the ability to fast-forward ads when you’re watching TV, you’ll also be able to fast-forward adverts in the following third-party apps:
- ITVX
- STV Player
- All 4
- see more…
Sky’s ad skipping pack is different from the ITVX Premium and All 4+ subscription services. With an ITVX Premium or All 4+ subscription, adverts are removed entirely from the service (there’s no need to manually fast-forward through them). With ITVX Premium, you’ll also get extra premium-only shows such as content from BritBox. ITVX Premium costs £5.99 per month and All 4+ costs £3.99 per month.
The Sky ad skipping pack is not compatible with other third-party apps such as Spotify and YouTube. You’ll need a separate subscription to remove adverts from these apps (e.g. Spotify Premium and YouTube Premium). In other cases (e.g. with BBC iPlayer and Netflix), the service is ad-free to begin with.
Is The Ad Skipping Pack Worth It?
Is it worthwhile getting the ad skipping pack? This really depends on what you watch and how much you’re willing to put up with some adverts.
If you mainly watch live TV, the ad skipping pack won’t make much of a difference to you (as you’ll still get adverts on live TV). Similarly, if you mainly watch on-demand content from apps like BBC iPlayer and Netflix, these will already be free of advertising so the Ad Skipping pack will not make much of a difference to you.
If you often like to watch content from your playlist, Sky’s on-demand service, ITVX or All4, the ad skipping pack is more worthwhile and might be worth considering (particularly for watching Sky’s own content).
If you mainly want the ad skipping pack for ITVX or All 4, you could consider getting an ITVX Premium or All 4+ subscription instead. With ITVX Premium, you’ll be able to watch ITVX without any adverts. You’ll also get access to premium content such as box sets from BritBox for £5.99 per month (this is just 99p more than Sky’s ad skipping pack). Meanwhile, All 4+ is available for £3.99 per month. This makes it a bit cheaper than Sky’s ad skipping pack, though much more limited in scope (as it only removes adverts from the All 4 service).
Sky’s ad skipping pack is available on a rolling 31-day contract so you can add it or remove it from your account at any time. For this reason, we’d normally recommend signing up to Sky without the ad skipping pack (as you can always add it on at a later date if you find that you need it).
Sky TV Deals with Ad Skipping
At present, you can get Sky TV with the Sky Entertainment & Netflix pack from £26 per month (available on an 18-month contract). You can then add the ad skipping pack for an extra £5 per month (available on a 31-day rolling contract):
| Service | Broadband | Television | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 Sky Stream, Sky Entertainment & Netflix | No Broadband |    120+ channels included | £26/month for 18 months with 1 months free +£5/month ad skipping |
Sky Stream, Sky Entertainment & Netflix (31 day) | No Broadband | 120+ channels included | £29/month for 1 months with 1 months free +£5/month ad skipping |
If you want a Sky Glass television, you’ll need to add an extra £13 per month (Small 43″), £18 per month (Medium 55″) or £23 per month (Large 65″) to the prices shown above. You can build your own Sky Glass package on Sky’s website.
For extra savings, consider taking Sky Broadband together with Sky TV. At present, it’s possible to get a combined package from £39 per month (plus an extra £5 per month if you want the optional ad skipping pack).
| Service | Broadband | Television | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Sky Stream, Sky Entertainment & Netflix with Superfast Broadband | 59Mbps average download | 120+ channels included | £39/month for 18 months £13 for 1 months +£5/month ad skipping |
Sky Stream, Sky Entertainment & Netflix with Ultrafast Plus Broadband | 500Mbps average download | 120+ channels included | £49/month for 18 months £23 for 1 months +£5/month ad skipping |
Sky Stream, Sky Entertainment & Netflix with Superfast 35 Broadband | 36Mbps average download | 120+ channels included | £60.50/month for 18 months £34.50 for 1 months +£5/month ad skipping |
Sky Stream, Sky Entertainment & Netflix with Ultrafast Broadband | 145Mbps average download | 120+ channels included | £64/month for 18 months £38 for 1 months +£5/month ad skipping |
More Information
For more information about the Ad Skipping pack, please see the official Sky website.
Simon said:
I’m now paying £5/month for Ad Skipping, and when I stream Sky content on my iPad I’m still forced to sit through a bunch of ads. How is this in any way okay? The Ad Skipping feature alone costs not so much less than I pay each month for a full BritBox subscription. Sort it out!