Fed up with Sky bias towards new customers....

50Twuncle

pen1 wrote: »

There's been far too much movement of prices, content, packages- some of them subtle- with Sky, in the past year, in my view.

18% monthly line rental increase (not subtle!)
Sky Go Extra
Entertainment Extra +
Sky Sports F1

As a Sky customer, I've just been left feeling that (aside from the standard annual inflationary increase, which I expect) I never quite know where I am any longer, except for the feeling that Sky are plotting new methods of making me pay more for the services/content etc. I want, in addition to the traditional annual price rise.

I've switched line rental and broadband from Sky as a consequence, and whilst the alternatives are not so easy for tv, as a sports fan, I do see the arrival of BT Sport, and the fact that they intend to sell directly to Sky customers on the Sky platform, as a positive change that will improve the options available and increase the bargaining power of consumers.

There is also the reverse - ie Sky Movies - which was previously only available directly from Sky - now available using on-line companies
Maybe this is the reason for Skys' recent price hikes - they are losing money on Movies ?

pen1

Incidentally, several outlets are reporting that BT Sport is set to gain the rights to MotoGP. According to Bennetts Bike Social:

We believe BT's ambition is to set new standards for bike sport, so expect fully interactive services along the lines of Sky’s F1 coverage ....

Article in full:
http://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/racing/motogp/20131/bbc-set-to-lose-tv-rights-for-motogp/#.UX-c1cp5Kbo

Buzby

albionrovers wrote: »

All designed to confuse yer average punter. Thing is, did Sky think that folk'll just carry on regardless? IMO folk'll cancel at the drop of a hat once they cop on to forums such

But that's not their core market. The bulk pay by DD and look for no alternatives and stick with them.

[Deleted User]

21Twinkle wrote: »

Maybe this is the reason for Skys' recent price hikes - they are losing money on Movies ?

Sky aren't losing money on any of their channel offering except perhaps Sky Atlantic (which they keep as an exclusive).

If Sky Movies appears on other platforms then that simply provides yet another valuable revenue stream to Sky.

Geordie_Ahmed

21Twinkle wrote: »

That is disgusting - forcing people to pay so much for so little - Sky are going to lose large number of customers on this decision......
So, to watch F1 - We are looking at virtually £50 per month (non-HD !!) and £60 HD ?

It's disgusting if you are a new subscribing F1 fan but this repackage will benefit a lot of customers, I.e those that want the Entertainment Extra channels in HD and don't feel it's right they pay the same for HD as premium subscribers. Also previously you needed the full pack to get 3D, now you get 3D content with Entertainment Extra +, so I think this change is overall more good than disgusting

Geordie_Ahmed

pen1 wrote: »

There's been far too much movement of prices, content, packages- some of them subtle- with Sky, in the past year, in my view.

18% monthly line rental increase (not subtle!)
Sky Go Extra
Entertainment Extra +
Sky Sports F1

As a Sky customer, I've just been left feeling that (aside from the standard annual inflationary increase, which I expect) I never quite know where I am any longer, except for the feeling that Sky are plotting new methods of making me pay more for the services/content etc. I want, in addition to the traditional annual price rise.

I've switched line rental and broadband from Sky as a consequence, and whilst the alternatives are not so easy for tv, as a sports fan, I do see the arrival of BT Sport, and the fact that they intend to sell directly to Sky customers on the Sky platform, as a positive change that will improve the options available and increase the bargaining power of consumers.

So who did you switch to for line rental?

[Deleted User]

Geordie_Ahmed wrote: »

It's disgusting if you are a new subscribing F1 fan

I think Sky F1 was included in the HD pack to encourage take up of high definition. The new package will suit those who previously wanted HD, but didn't have Sport or Movies and didn't want to pay £10.25 for a limited service. I think the vast majority of those viewing F1 will also subscribe to Sky Sport anyway.

comeandgo

I watch full Sky channels in the 6 winter months and basic package during summer months and I always get half price on winter package- they do try and get old customers back with incentives and it just so happens their incentives work well with me.

pen1

Geordie_Ahmed wrote: »

So who did you switch to for line rental?

I switched to BT, with Unlimited Infinity 2 (up to 76Mb, which my line can fully support) and BT Youview.

The total annual commitment when taking in to account all incentives BT offered was very similar to the combined cost of Sky line rental & Sky Fibre Pro (their up to 76Mb service).

However, BT offered a Youview box for £49 one-off, with TV Essential free for 18 months, so whilst I continue to subscribe to Sky TV, my total outlay is broadly unchanged and I have a Youview box in position to take advantage of any BT Sport offer if it is preferable to subscribing on the Sky platform.

BT actually made a bit of effort to win my custom from Sky. When it became apparent that an engineer visit would be necessary to switch the telephone line, they waived the fee, which would otherwise have been a deal-breaker.

jay1181

I am with you on this. Our contract is coming to and end next month so i phone to see if there are any good deals for existing customers to be told not that many sir??? so i said i was just going to cancel and get a free sat dvr as i hardly watch it anyway and its costing about £80 odd quid a month which could be sitting in our bank instead of theirs just need to find a good free sat box now

21Twinkle wrote: »

Am I alone in being totally fed up with Sky continually offering deals to new customers - totally ignoring those of us - who have paid out, literally thousands of pounds each over the years ?

I see, that, once again - Sky is sucking in a new batch of mugs - by offering half price deals for the next 6 months

What about your long term loyal customers - Sky ?