The SKY TV Downgrade Challenge

Swans1912

Hi All,

I have been inspired by how much I have shaved off my SKY TV package and wondered if anyone else fancied trying to do the same?

I used to have:
SKY World, HD Pack & Multi-room for £58.50 per Month

I now have:
Variety Pack + Lifestyle & Culture Pack for £19

Do you REALLY know what your getting from each pack?

Check out the packs here:
http://www.sky.com/shop/tv/entertainment-packs/variety-pack/

Then make sure it is not listed on here:
http://www.sky.com/shop/tv/free-to-air-channels/?returnToAuthFilter=true

Don't forget Freeview for the likes of Sky Sports News:
http://www.freeview.co.uk/availability

almond

we had sky since the beginning i used to work for bsb and got a free box, last year had enough of the rubbish was only watching lost and gave up on that !
so we have been sky free for a year now, we have lost some channels because
of the blue card, we get five via other channels section.
Do i miss it ? yes and no miss the music channels , he misses the racing but
we are £20 a month better off and when we flick the channels on a night i can say they is nothing to watch on the channels we don't have apart from only fools and horses and all the old stuff like that.
So to date we are £240 better off and if we missed the old stuff we could go and buy a box set to watch when we want

will-in-estoril

It is frightening just how many mates of mine have not got a clue how much they pay $ky. The bundling up of phone and broadband has had two effects:

1. It has hidden or buried the actual cost of the satellite tv component.
2. Once $ky unbundle your phone line they have got you completely hooked: if you try to cancel yout tv, you are no longer eligible for their phone service. In turn you cannot switch to another phone company without having a new line installed: the curse of LLU.

cons

i used to have movies etc

but now i have the variety and musc pack now

my dads has all tv channels + hd channels + 2x multirooms

crazy

he doesnt even watch that much movies

ironman1

We watch about two/three films a week and I will browse through it when nothing is on. The sports channels are good even Espn classic which I think is free. I watch loads of football even though I go to my teams games it's good for away games I don't go to. Also I can watch any game really, even Wigan v Bolton ha ha. Also they have the brilliant replay of every prem game on Saturday nights.

I think you either have Sky or you don't. i hate it when people haven't got certain channels and you are round their house. Fair play if you don't watch sports or movies but i'd just have freeview if I didnt. Not many other reasons to have Sky.

Now we have Hd we are paying £63.5 for all channels, HD, internet and phone. It looks expensive but watching a certain film or football match may make your mind up to stay in one night. Lets be honest if you go out with mates and the oh to watch a game in the pub you'll be spending more than the monthly subscription to Sky in one day/night out anyway!

I also love watching South Park, Simpson's. Sky one, uk gold etc. To me Sky is great value, although I don't really like them...

ironman1

My main point in that long boring post was what I forgot to say. We have been on the 25% discount after saying we wanted to cancel in Jan so until June we will be paying 48 quid a month. A bit of haggling and they always give you some kind of discount. So around £1.50 for every channel, HD, decent internet, free weekend and off peak calls.

I am probably sounding like a broken Sky advertising record but truth is i'm not, I don't like giving them a penny but I cant understand how everyone can moan so much about them. What else is there? Unless you are completely skint i just don't get why people moan about the package so much!

will-in-estoril

ironman1 wrote: »

What else is there?

I have a motorised dish. I get thousands of channels. My football costs me £80 a year for a legal Bulgarian card: Sat lunchtime, 2 x 3pm, teatime, Sun lunchtime, Sun 4pm, Mon night, Tue and Wed games, whether shown on UK satellite TV or not. English lang film channels. FA Cup (inc 3pm Sat games), Champions League.

Set up costs around £400: less than a year's subs to $ky.

(You did ask the question!)

ironman1

Saturday 3pm kick off's are good and can always be found on the internet anyway, but i'm usually at the game for those kick off's anyway. Also how reliable is this Delboy dish?

It's like mates of mine that go on about paying for the chipped boxes only to moan when the channels get taken away. Or they will be very soon apparantly.

There is alot of crap on sky I don't watch but the sports and movies are decent value. Like I said its not just live games but the Espn classics and the red button games at the end of every match day. Things like that are a godsend to watch after you've been to the game but too drunk to remember it!

will-in-estoril

ironman1 wrote: »

Saturday 3pm kick off's are good and can always be found on the internet anyway, but i'm usually at the game for those kick off's anyway. Also how reliable is this Delboy dish?

It's like mates of mine that go on about paying for the chipped boxes only to moan when the channels get taken away.

The quality of image I get cannot be found on the internet. What do you mean by 'Delboy dish'? Mine is made by Triax, one of the best manufacturers of dishes. Leaves those colanders $ky supply in the shade. http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/fixed-dishes.htm#triax11

I did not mention chipped boxes; I have a legitimate subscription to Bulgarian pay tv, who have just signed a new 3 year deal with the EPL. http://sofiaecho.com/2009/12/07/826696_nordic-group-mtg-secures-broadcasting-rights-for-english-premier-league-in-bulgaria

Next point??;)

AdamBrunt

We just have Variety and Children's pack, max broadband and phone at the moment. Started off with everything but slowly got rid of movies, sport and all the other mixes. Has ESPN for a couple of months but , after barely watching it, ditched it pretty quickly.

If Sky ever phone me offering the "free" HD pack I will take it.

If a football game isn't covered by my season ticket then I resort to the net but have always toyed with a dish for this - especially if getting the dish meant I could ditch the season ticket

will-in-estoril: on the Bulgarian card, are the commentaries in English ?

will-in-estoril

AdamBrunt wrote: »

will-in-estoril: on the Bulgarian card, are the commentaries in English ?

No, they're not, although I would not let that worry you. Difficult to explain, but you eventually don't 'hear' the overseas' commentary.

There are alternatives. It will be interesting to see what satellites Abu Dhabi Sports use. They have promised a 24 hour English language sports channel to carry their newly-won EPL coverage rights.