The company is replacing the customer communications through a weekly email which it said will provide more timely updates to Sky's programming and offer rich media such as video, as well as services such as being able to click through on programme listings to set reminders or record.

The magazines represent some of the largest magazine print runs in the country, with the flagship Sky Magazine boasting a huge 7.3m copies of each issue, while the Movies and Sports editions generate a combined circulation of 8m copies.

The changes are due to take place in July, with some 20 roles at risk of redundancy, although a number of these will be picked up by increased demand created on the digital product.

"We are making these changes so that we can focus more of our efforts on communicating with our customers digitally," said a Sky spokesperson. "As a brand which sits at the heart of digital entertainment and communications, online increasingly offers more immediacy, engagement and interaction. As well as being in step with the changing behaviours of many millions of our customers, it’s also a more efficient way to stay in touch with Sky homes."

Sky Movies magazine is produced by Future Publishing, while Sky Magazine and Sky Sports are produced in-house, although all are printed by Prinovis at sites across Europe, including Liverpool.

A spokesperson for the company said: "Of course this frees up capacity, but we're pretty confident we'll be able fill this up over the next few months. There's a lot of movement in the market right now."