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

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

Good news, sports fans: Sky is rolling out an upgrade that reduces the delay on live event broadcasts for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers. The new opt-in Live Sync feature cuts latency in Sky Sports by approximately 22 seconds, so what you’re watching is much closer to real time.

Viewers streaming live events via broadband will 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 in terms of the streaming experience. It means that streamers will encounter essentially the same viewing delay as they would if watching a Sky Q or Sky+ HD broadcast via satellite.

It also means a much lower chance of spoilers. If your Premier League team sticks one in the back of the net, you’ll be cheering at the same time as your neighbours watching on satellite. Eight seconds also leaves a lot less time for a live score notification to pop up on your smartphone.

What is Sky Sports Live Sync?

Viewers watching Sky Sports via broadband currently encounter a delay upwards of 30 seconds between a ball being kicked in a real life and footage reaching their screen. There are various reasons for this, all of which relate to the conversion and transfer of video files through data cables across the UK.

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

Sky hasn’t revealed the technical advancements behind its low-latency upgrade. It seems most likely that the efficiencies will have been found in the way that Sky processes video data from live sports events, to reduce file sizes and increase data transfer speeds.

How to turn on Sky Sports Live Sync

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 to Sky Sports Main Event and select the Live Sync button which pops up on 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 to request “Sky Sports Main Event Low Latency” or “Sky Sports Main Event Live Sync”

Where is Sky’s Live Sync available?

At present, Live Sync is only available in the UK for broadcasts on Sky Sports Main Event. Sky has plans to roll out the low-latency feature across 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 which you can watch via Sky Glass or Sky Stream.

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