So, what’s the story? 

SUBSCRIPTION NETWORK SKY Sports is doing away with the current channel format — Sky Sports 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 — and replacing it with a new line-up.

The revamped service will provide 10 channels, with several dedicated to specific sports: Football, golf, cricket and Formula 1.

This is how Sky say it will look:

• Sky Sports Main Event (401) will show live Premier League matches, international football qualifiers and the highest-profile games from the English Football League and La Liga as well as GAA, Formula 1, the Ryder Cup and golf majors, England Test cricket, Rugby Union and the World Darts Championship.

• Sky Sports Premier League (402) has 126 live matches from English football’s top flight. There’ll also be a new nightly show plus an On Demand section with match highlights, interviews and documentaries for all 20 Premier League clubs.

• Sky Sports Football (403) hosts 900 live matches every season, including 127 from the English Football League, the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup, 300 La Liga matches, MLS, Eredivisie and more.

• Sky Sports Cricket (404) is where you’ll find live coverage of every home England Test, One Day International and T20 match. There will also be domestic English cricket, ICC Champions Trophy, Cricket World Cup, World Twenty20 and the Women’s World Cup.

• Sky Sports Golf (405) will have The Open Championship and the US Open live, plus the 2018 Ryder Cup, the European Tour, PGA Tour, Ladies European and Ladies PGA Tour and the Solheim Cup.

• Sky Sports F1 (406) has got every Formula One practice, qualifying hour and race live as well as exclusive coverage of the FIA Formula 2 Championship, GP3, Porsche Supercup and Goodwood Festival of Speed.

• Sky Sports Action (407) and Sky Sports Arena (408) will have GAA and rugby union coverage such as the European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, internationals, English domestic competitions and the British & Irish Lions, rugby Super League, ATP tennis, PDC darts, world championship boxing, NFL, WWE, GAA, netball and more.

• Sky Sports News (409). The network’s 24-hour news channel will remain the same.

• Sky Sports Mix (121) will give all Sky customers who don’t subscribe to the Sky Sports package the chance to view selected matches from the Premier League, English Football League, La Liga, MLS and international qualifiers plus golf, international cricket and more.

When is it happening? 

The changeover is scheduled to take place tomorrow, 18 July.

Does this mean Irish Sky Sports customers will have to pay more for the new channels? 

Not for the moment anyway. Irish Sky Sports customers will get the new package automatically at the existing rate of €40-a-month for the next 12 months. There’s also currently an offer to sign up and get the Sky Sports bundle for €20-a-month for six months.

“We’re dedicating channels to some of our biggest sports, launching a new way to watch the best live action and offering even better digital products too,” says Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis.

“Sky Sports is giving customers even more choice and channels at the same price for another 12 months, while opening up new ways for sports fans to join.”

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