Sky unveils new facebook app for UK and Irish users

Sky Ireland has unveiled a new app that will allow subscribers to record programmes on their Sky set-top box at home through Facebook.

The Sky Share app is designed to allow users to discuss their favourite TV shows, and discover new shows through recommendations from friends and trending TV series. The app can be used by anyone on Facebook in Ireland and the UK to share their favourite shows, Sky said.

However, the Sky+ remote record function must be activated by logging in with a valid Sky ID.

This is the first Facebook app to offer Sky subscribers this functionality, although the company has a number of other mobile apps available for users of Android and iOS devices.

Sky Ireland’s director of sales and marketing Mark Anderson said the company had noticed a trend of customers in Ireland turning to social media to talk about and share the shows they enjoyed. The tool was developed as a way to complement that trend, he said.

In June, Sky Ireland said the downloads of its mobile apps, which include Sky Go, Sky+, and news and sports apps, had reached more than two million. That was split into about 1.3 million downloads of iOS apps and 600,000 Android downloads.

The Sky Go App, which allows Sky customers to watch live TV on tablets and smartphones, has been downloaded around 400,000 times by Irish consumers, the company said. The Sky+ app, which gives users the ability to record programmes remotely and turns the mobile device into a remote control for the Sky+ set top box, has also proved popular with consumers, who have downloaded the app more than 300,000 times.