What is Sky Sports Live Sync? The new low-latency sports streaming feature explained

Live Sync reduces latency during live broadcasts by 22 seconds
Available to Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers
Option can be enabled on the Sky Sports Main Event

Good news, sports fans: Sky is introducing an upgrade that reduces delays in live event broadcasts for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers. The new, opt-in Live Sync feature reduces latency in Sky Sports by around 22 seconds, so what you watch is much closer to real time.

Viewers streaming live events via broadband now wait just eight seconds between something happening on the pitch and it appearing on their screen. That’s significantly shorter than the 30-second delay previously experienced by Sky Glass and Sky Stream subscribers.

Live Sync is only available on the Sky Sports Main Event channel for now, but it’s still a big step forward when it comes to the streaming experience. It means streamers will experience essentially the same viewing delay as if they were watching a Sky Q or Sky+ HD broadcast via satellite.

It also means a much lower chance of spoilers. When your Premier League team puts one in the net, you cheer as your neighbors watch via satellite. Eight seconds also leaves much less time for a live score notification on your smartphone.

What is Sky Sports Live Sync?

Viewers watching Sky Sports on broadband currently experience a delay of more than 30 seconds between the moment a ball is actually kicked and the footage appearing on their screen. There are several reasons for this, all of which involve the conversion and transfer of video files via data cables in the UK.

Live Sync is a new feature that reduces this delay to just eight seconds. It is an optional upgrade that can be enabled on the Sky Sports Main Event channel.

Sky hasn’t revealed the technical advances behind the low-latency upgrade. It seems very likely that the efficiencies will have been found in the way Sky processes video data from live sporting events, to reduce file size and increase data transfer speed.

How to enable Sky Sports Live Sync

A TV with the Sky Sports Live Sync function

(Image credit: Future)

If you’re a Sky Stream or Sky Glass user, you can experience Live Sync today. There are three ways to enable the setting:

Tune in Sky Sports main event And select the Live Sync button that appears on the screen
Navigate to the low latency channels in the Sky TV Guide on Glass or Stream (921 for HD And 922 for Ultra HD broadcasts)
Use your Sky voice remote control to request “Sky Sports Main Event Low Latency” or “Sky Sports Main Event Live Sync”.

Where is Sky’s Live Sync available?

A TV with the Sky Sports Live Sync function

(Image credit: Future)

Currently, Live Sync is only available in the UK for Sky Sports Main Event broadcasts. Sky has plans to roll out the low-latency feature on more of its channels in the future, although it’s not clear which channels or when.

It’s worth noting that Live Sync is a Sky technology, so it’s unlikely to be made available for non-Sky channels that you can watch via Sky Glass or Sky Stream.

We’ve reached out to Sky to confirm whether the feature will also be available to customers watching sports on its Now TV streaming service, and will update this article if and when we hear back.