beloved

SKY customers are days away from the permanent closure of two beloved TV channels.

It’s part of a massive TV guide shake-up that was rolled out throughout April.

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India Today, available on Satellite channel 523 will end its broadcast permanently on July 1.

And Music India, which customers can access on channel 711, will also cease operations on the same day.

The former – a popular news channel – launched in May 2023 and coincided with the general election in India.

India Today’s sister channel, Aaj Tak, will continue to be available on Sky, channel 710.

BOLD PREDICTION

It comes after one TV expert said it is “unlikely” Sky will ever release a new satellite product.

Paolo Pescatore, an expert for PP Foresight, told The Sun it is “highly unlikely” Sky will ever release a new satellite box “given the investment and timescales with the TV switch off that’s around the corner”.

Last year, Sky signed a contract extension with satellite operator SES that takes the service up to 2029.

“Ultimately Sky would prefer to migrate all users onto its IP based products which in turn will lead to the end of Sky Q,” Paolo said.

“It is reliable, robust and serves customers needs.

“They do not want to buy another telly with Sky inside for now.”

SKY CHANNEL SWAPS IN APRIL SO FAR

Here’s the full list of Sky channel swaps in April so far…

Tuesday, April 1

• U&W HD ROI closes on satellite only – the SD remains at 132
• U&W HD closes on satellite only – the SD remains at 132
• U&Yesterday HD closes on satellite only – the SD remains at 155 – 161 in ROI
• U&Alibi HD moves from 130 to 120 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
• U&Gold HD moves from 131 to 121 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
• U&Dave HD moves from 132 to 130 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
• U&W HD moves from 133 to 131 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
• U&Drama moves from 134 to 132 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
• U&Yesterday HD moves from 161 to 133 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
• U&Eden moves from 162 to 134 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
• GINX TV HD moves from 419 to 417 on Glass/Stream only in the UK
• MUTV HD moves from 420 to 418 on Glass/Stream only in the UK
• LFCTV HD moves from 421 to 419 on Glass/Stream only in the UK
• Premier Sports 1 HD moves from 419 to 417 on Glass/Stream only in ROI
• Premier Sports 2 HD moves from 420 to 418 on Glass/Stream only in ROI
• GINX TV HD moves from 421 to 419 on Glass/Stream only in ROI
• MUTV HD moves from 422 to 420 on Glass/Stream only in ROI
• LFCTV HD moves from 423 to 421 on Glass/Stream only in ROI

Wednesday, April 2

• TV Warehouse moves from 676 to 673 on satellite only
• Cruise1st.tv moves from 681 to 675 on satellite only
• ​Sky History 2 HD closes on satellite – the SD moves to 163 in the UK and 168 in ROI and NI – HD channel remains on Glass/Stream

Thursday, April 3

• ​Sky Gangsters (Satellite 309 – Glass/Stream 309) changes name to renames to Sky Thriller HD (reverting from a temporary change)
• Sky Books To Screen (Satellite 302 – Glass/Stream 302) renames to Sky Adventure/ SkyAdventureHD (temporary change)

Friday, April 4

• ​Sky Family (Satellite 306/850 – Glass/Stream 306) renames to SkyHarryPotter / HarryPotterHD​ (Temp)      
• ​Sky Hits (Satellite 303 – Glass/Stream 303) changes name to The Hobbit HD (Temporary change)

Monday, April 7

• ​Sky The Hobbit (Satellite 303 – Sky Glass/Stream 303) changes name to ​Sky Hits / Sky Hits HD (reverting from temporary change)

Thursday, April 10

• ​Sky History+1 (Satellite 223 (224 Scotland)) closes permanently

Dwight Howard is devastated.

And he wants answers.

The former NBA great and current player for the Big 3’s L.A. Riot on Wednesday wrote on Instagram that his dog, Sunday, died in an apparent hit-and-run accident on June 18 in Suwanee, Ga. Howard said that he was visiting New York when he received the tragic news that his beloved Belgian Malinois “got loose and was hit by a car that kept going.”

“I’m devastated because you were the dog that never left my side, the dog that stuck to my hip at all times, and the one time you wander off without me being there someone takes you away from me,” Howard wrote. “Who could be so heartless to do this to such an innocent girl with no remorse.

“I’ve been trying to hold this in. … I really have but it’s killing me inside to get answers! I need answers and I won’t stop searching until I find out what happen to my beautiful Sunday.”

Howard implored his 3.7 million followers to share any information they might have about the incident. The majority of his post, however, was a tribute in words, photos and videos to a dear pooch who sounds as though she was one man’s best friend.

“From the moment I got you, Sunday, you were more than just my dog. … You were my peace. My protector. A reminder of everything beautiful and calm just like those early Sunday mornings,” wrote Howard, a three-time defensive player of the year who won an NBA title with the Lakers in 2020 and is set to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this fall.

“You hugged like no other. Barked at nothing like it meant everything. And every time I called your name, you came running full speed like your only mission was to love me. You waited at the door for me every single day, just to wrap your paws around me. And I’m gonna miss those hugs more than I can put into words.

“You were joy. You were warmth. You were my girl. And your life was cut short too soon. You helped me Smile through all the Storms I’ve been through but what do I do now that my Sunday Sunshine is gone.”

Weathered and bumpy, the wall hidden among the surplus clothing stores of the Fashion District was hardly the perfect canvas.

But artist Sloe Motions’ vision for the memorial mural in honor of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna following their deaths in 2020 brought the stretch of Main and 14th streets to life with vibrant hues of purple and gold.

One of the most well-known Kobe murals across Southern California, the art piece — outside Jimmy Jam T-Shirts — was the backdrop for a commercial for Super Bowl LVI featuring Vanessa Bryant and has drawn fans from near and far.

For years, the mural remained untouched — an unspoken mark of respect for the artist and the subject but one that abruptly ended this year.

In late March, someone tagged the artwork with large bubble letters outlined in black and filled in with white — a similar style to other street tagging visible across the city.

Sloe Motions went back to work, painstakingly restoring the mural. There was much fanfare in downtown when the new mural made its debut in late May. But within a few days, it was again defaced. The artist is disappointed but vows to restore it once again — this time in a new location.

“This one has a lot of meaning to it, so it hurts me that people would do something like this where they’re disrespecting the Bryant family. It just exposes these people’s demons,” Sloe Motions said.

Graffiti has long been an element of Los Angeles life, and residents of downtown are used to tags as part of the landscape. This is, after all, the place where taggers coated the unfinished Oceanwide Plaza high-rise complex with graffiti, generating international attention and debate about the line between art and vandalism.

But the treatment of the Kobe tribute surprised Sloe Motions.

“This isn’t just another Kobe mural. It’s a memorial,” he said.

Street art has long been a part of the culture of Los Angeles, where murals — sanctioned and unsanctioned — and graffiti harmoniously share canvas space. Some abide by the unwritten code that you don’t cover someone else’s art. Others take a more autonomous approach, creating what they want where they want.

“Great cities have great public art,” said Wyland, a Laguna Beach-based artist who has painted murals across the world. “This Kobe mural, it’s become part of the fabric of Los Angeles. And for someone to come in and destroy it like that doesn’t make any sense.”

Los Angeles is known as a city of murals — some of which remain respectfully untouched for years, while others like the Kobe memorial are a seemingly irresistible target for taggers. There was a time when some property owners believed hiring the right muralist to grace your walls — or including a portrait of the Virgen de Guadalupe — could keep taggers away. But not anymore.

In many ways downtown Los Angeles is the perfect gallery for viewing street art, turning nondescript buildings into colorful canvases that tell the story of the region.

Ife Ewing, co-owner of Jimmy Jam T-Shirts, says street art has changed in the 13 years her business has been housed on Main Street.

James Ewing, co-owner of Jimmy Jam T-Shirts, looks at a mural Wednesday of Kobe and Gianna Bryant that has been vandalized again on the side of the business at 14th and Main streets.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

“Before, it was isolated to designated areas,” she said. “It’s a different breed of artists now. They have no respect for business owners, property owners. It’s disrespectful. You have to call it what it is, it’s just disrespect.”

Sloe Motions is far from the only muralist to feel burned.

Judy Baca’s famed mural of a female Olympic runner is beloved, even though it has been hit by taggers in the past. Then in 2019, the mural — part of the 1984 Olympics art movement — was mysterious whitewashed, sparking outrage. Metro eventually admitted one of its graffiti abatement contractors had covered the mural and vowed to restore it.

“They would rather paint on the mural than see even a mark of graffiti on the mural,” Baca said at the time.

The latest vandalism to Bryant’s mural felt like another blow to the area.

A post on June 3 from the DTLA Insider Instagram account summed up the situation simply: “We really can’t have nice things.”

The mural image is a spin on a photograph capturing a sweet moment during the 2008 NBA Finals when the Lakers legend — a proud “girl dad” — leans down and kisses the side of his smiling toddler’s head as he cradles her in his arm during a news conference.

Sloe Motions was drawn to the emotion in the photograph — the purity of a father’s love and a daughter’s admiration for her hero. It was captured years before Gigi started playing basketball, showing off her own version of her dad’s envied fadeaway jumper.

Next to them, the words “Mambas Forever” with an infinity symbol are painted in purple and gold.

Bryant, 41, and 13-year-old Gigi, along with seven others — John Altobelli, 56; Keri Altobelli, 46; Alyssa Altobelli, 13; Christina Mauser, 38, Sarah Chester, 45; Payton Chester, 13; and pilot Ara Zobayan, 50 — died Jan. 26, 2020, when the helicopter Zobayan was flying crashed in the hills of Calabasas.

After the initial vandalism in late March, Sloe Motions had sought donations to help cover the cost of restoring the mural in the current location, hoping to preserve the spot for the Bryant family.

“There’s just a lot of meaning at that wall,” he said.

Lakers star Luka Doncic’s foundation quickly jumped into action, donating $5,000, the full amount needed, to a fundraiser to help restore the art piece.

In late May, Sloe Motions posted on Instagram that the mural was finally finished. He’d added a few additional touches, painting the No. 8 on Gigi’s jersey, an homage to the number that Kobe wore for the first 10 seasons of his career.

A week later, the new details were still visible but under the scrawl of white paint.

On June 4, television news cameras were positioned near the mural, and passersby stopped to assess the damage. A jumble of bright white paint cut across the image, and heavy white dots covered Kobe’s and Gigi’s eyes.

“This time, they really went heavy,” Sergio Bautista, 35, said as he stood in front of the mural. “It’s sad to see.”

Sky Hendrix, who was in the area filming a music video with a friend, expressed his disbelief.

“That’s disrespecting the dead,” Hendrix said as he took in the scene. “Who would do that? He’s the GOAT and she’s just a little girl.”

Despite the vandalism, Sloe Motions showed no real sign of anger as he talked about the future of the art piece somewhere else where more people could view and appreciate it. He said he sent “prayers” to the people who vandalized his work.

“Nothing’s forever, and that’s the beauty of this stuff,” Sloe Motions said. “Some stuff could last a minute, some stuff could last a day, some stuff could last years.”

Times photographer Genaro Molina contributed to this report.