Sky makes major changes with channel shuffles as documentaries and +1 channels get their own sections

Sky Q and Sky+ customers will have noticed some changes to their set-top boxes from May.

The changes, which came into force on Tuesday, see all documentary channels grouped together on the TV Guide in their own listed section, as well as joining the “entertainment” section.

Sky says that, with the help of Sir David Attenborough and other famous faces, documentaries have found a natural home on the small screen and the changes to the services reflect this.

Plus 1 channels – those that offer the same programming as their parent station but an hour behind – are also now grouped together which should make them easier to find.

This, of course, has had some impact on the numbering of stations with key changes seeing Discovery HD now on 125, National Geographic HD on 129 and History HD on 130.

Catch up stations should, in theory, now be easier to navigate to without using the TV guide as users just need to add 100 to the parent station. For example, ITV is on 103 with +1 on 203.

The other change made by the provider involves High Definition channels now being the default settings for stations offering HD.

For example, 101 will now automatically display BBC One HD while Standard Definition channels have been relegated to the back on the numbering system, with BBC One SD languishing on 967.

Sky said: “Our HD Channel Swap feature ensures you always receive the best quality version of a channel at the higher position in the TV Guide − if you have access to the HD version, we give you the HD version first by default.”

Users have already noticed the changes, writing on social media that this is the “single greatest change” made by the company in recent years - although not everybody is as enamoured with the new numbering.

More details about the changes and new station numbers can be found on the website.