Sky delivers solution to “missed the start” movie sadness
No more tears or tantrums over TV timing troubles
We’ve all been there: sitting down with your tea for a zap through the movie channels and there it is, the perfect flick. Then, like a blow to the chest, you realise it’s already half an hour in.
Perhaps what you’ve missed won’t matter (if it’s a Liam Neeson film it certainly won’t), but wouldn’t it be nice if you could turn back time, take the shortcuts you’ve been studiously avoiding all evening (the kids don’t really need a bedtime story) and indulge your filmic pleasure from the start?
Thankfully you don’t need to invent a time machine or sacrifice your childrens’ longterm literary development to go back to the start of your film – at least not if you’re a Sky subscriber – because now the green button will do it for you.
One press of the wee thing on a Sky Movies channel that’s already playing a film and your box will blitz the broadband and download it so you can watch it from the start – no searching, no selecting, just press, wait, and go.
Showing a sublime streak of imagination, Sky has called it “Watch From Start”.
Instant inspiration
Of course, you could see this as a simple streamlining process, with Sky just removing a couple of steps between you and a film that you can already download from its bank of blockbusters, but that’s to do a disservice to the smarts of Sky’s new trick.
With hundreds of films on offer, choice can overwhelm mere mortals; now, Movies customers can seize upon inspiration in the moment, hit the green button, and never look back.
What’s more, Sky is also introducing a raft of other updates to its entire extended entertainment experience.
Lots of lovely lists
Watchlist is set to let avid watchers compile an ongoing list of films they’re dying to watch, which can be added to with a single press of that same green button, and come back to it whenever they want. For all of those vaguely OCD-suffering movie lovers out there, this sounds like a godsend.
If yellow’s more your style, fear not – you’ll soon be able to use Sky’s little lemon lever to get instant recommendations for similar films to the one you’re watching, perfect for movie binge nights when inspiration runs dry.
As if that wasn’t enough, to save you even having to think about getting off the sofa, the UK media mogul is also going to give you direct access to Rotten Tomatoes Audience Scores so you’ll know right away whether a flick is a full-frontal thriller or dustbin-deservingly dull.
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Vaunting value victory
Beyond affording us ample alliterative inspiration, the updates illustrate that Sky is acutely aware of the competition offered by the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime, and the need to up its game in offering instant accessibility and extra entertainment value through its Movies package.
As cheaper online services are offering more and more original content, Sky may have to work harder than ever in marketing its movie exclusives and HD content.
The latest update is rolling out to customers now, and will be available to millions of Sky+ HD box users by later this autumn.
If only it would also implement instant cup refills.
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Chris Rowlands
Freelance contributor 
