Sky is launching a new service this week, Sky By Broadband, to subscribers in the UK and Ireland. Sky By Broadband will allow subscribers with broadband access to a special section on Sky's website to download content free of charge to their home computers.

The line-up for the launch includes around 200 films that are currently airing on Sky's various movie channels, as well as 1,000 sports video clips.

Sky plans to add to the film library and will continually update the sports footage, which will include highlights of English Premiership and Champions' League football matches.

Using Sky By Broadband, subscribers to Sky's various film channels, for example, will be able to download films that are currently airing on those channels, save them and watch them at any time over 30 days. After the 30-day period, software embedded in the Sky By Broadband platform will prevent the content being accessed. Likewise, Sky intends to prevent users saving the content to CD or DVD and from sending it via email.

Sky will also launch Sky By Mobile this week, providing news, sport and some video content to Irish subscribers with 3G mobile phones.