In a move which will pitch Sky directly against the Apple iTunes service and the Google Play store, the company will launch its Sky Go Extra service this week; giving its Sky Go subscribers the advantage of downloading content to mobile handsets and tablets.

With the Sky Go satellite digital streaming service already allowing the streaming of Sky's premium on-demand content on PC and mobile devices, the forthcoming launch of the Sky Go Extra service will essentially bring on a `download' option for Sky Go.

According to the details shared by Sky, the Sky Go Extra service will initially be available as a `free; introductory service for the first two months, after which the Sky Go subscribers will have to shell out an additional monthly payment of $5 to avail the service.

Though the WiFi-based Sky Go Extra service will not have any limits imposed on the number of on-demand movies and TV shows which the users can download to their mobile phones and tablets; they will, however, have to watch the downloaded content within one month.

Noting that the Sky Go Extra service will allow the users to download their favourite movies and TV shows and watch them offline, Sky's Luke Bradley-Jones said about the forthcoming services: "We're connecting our customer's boxes to the internet, and consumption habits shift dramatically - and it's not all driven by the juggernaut of iPlayer, it shifts the shape of people's viewing habits."