Question
I have a TV that has a Common Interface slot. I am wondering if I can get Sky Sports with a card or do I need to purchase some sort of box?
Submitted by Elaine
Our Answer
Most new TV sets come with a CI (Common Interface) slot. These require what’s known as a CAM (Conditional Access Module) to work. A CAM accepts a TV subscription card.
Here’s a picture of a CAM being slid into a TV set’s CI slot:
A CAM being inserted into a TV set's CI slot
With a subscription card inserted into a CAM, that’s then inserted into a TV set, you are able to watch encrypted TV channels.
At time of writing, TV sets with a CI Slot can only be used to decode one TV channel, and that’s ESPN, the sports channel.
How do I get ESPN?
If you want to use your TV set’s CI socket for ESPN, you can get a viewing card and a CAM from Top Up TV.
What about Sky Sports?
At the moment, you can’t get Sky Sports 1 or Sky Sports 2 using a CI slot, CAM and subscription card. This is because Sky does not believe that the Cam/ CI technology is secure enough, and accordingly, for Sky Sports, you’ll need a set-top box.
That having been said, at the end of 2010, the UK regulator OfCom upheld a complaint from Top Up TV, and it looks like Sky will be required to support a CAM in the future. It’s expected that older CI slots may not work though, and you’d need a TV that has a CI+ slot. At the time of writing, it’s still not possible to use a CI slot for Sky Sports, and we’ll update this article as soon as a solution is offered.
How to get Sky Sports on Freeview
As we explain above, you can use a CI slot for ESPN, but not for Sky (yet). To get Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2, you need a set-top box with a suitable card slot, and a subscription card.
Top Up TV is offering two boxes:
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You can order a set-top box and get a subscription card direct from Top Up TV: Visit www.topuptv.com/skysports
Alternatives
As an alternative to a Top Up TV set-top box, you can get Sky Sports from Sky (using satellite), Virgin Media (using its cable TV service), or online using Sky Go.
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