Sky TV retention deals ( post your haggling successes )

WillPS

Max68 said:

 So it's a case of who blinks first as with no working aerial I need a box. 

You could get a Freesat box and plug that in, or a Freely enabled set (which uses wifi).

applicationcen

JSmithy45AD said:

You're aware that they use the same satellites that Sky do (I think), that means that they have a very limited life span left.

The space craft will be there a lot longer than the current Sky arrangement which extends to  2030. That is still over 6 years away. I'll be happy with the box if it gives 6 years service. If I'm still breathing I'd probably buy another if needs be and as long as they are any good for the job of recording tv.

All satellites run out of manoeuvring fuel. At the point these satellites - which serve well over 120 million homes from here to Africa - run out of fuel they will be brought down. The Astra constellation comprise about 11 satellites and a couple of spares floating about ready to move in, each will last about 15 years. They all live within about a 93 cubic mile box of each other so that when one is ditched a spare moves in and they all snuggle in together for company.

They have been launching replacement satellites to the Astra constellation  regularly and the first of ASTRA 1P and ASTRA 1Q spacecraft launces imminently on 10 June 2024 on one of Elon's Falcon 9 space rockets.

So - yep - I'm ok with buying a Freesat box just now:)

Sterlingtimes

I am rather stuck with Sky Q, which is used by an elderly member of the household. I cannot really go down the cancellation route. 

The out-of-contract separate charges for HD are Sports £6 - £4 = £2, Sky HD £9. 

What happens if I downgrade Sky from HD to SD? Is HD for BBC, ITV, etc., lost? I did hear that Sky is planning to drop SD.

 Is Sky Sports HD still available (at £2) even when Sky HD is downgraded (-£9)?

Max68

WillPS said:

Max68 said:

 So it's a case of who blinks first as with no working aerial I need a box. 

You could get a Freesat box and plug that in, or a Freely enabled set (which uses wifi).

I'm not up to speed with Freesat at all and wouldn't really know where to start.  Do you need a different connector at the back of the dish or something?  To be honest the only thing I would really miss would be the live football on Sky. Don't watch much Signature and catch the odd film on Cinema.  Watch mostly the likes of Netflix and You Tube and I can get both on my smart tv.  The apps on the TV are fine, even catch up, but as soon as I try and programme the live channels the tv doesn't pick them up so it must be the aerial.  Would definitely miss Sky's recording feature though.

artyboy

Sterlingtimes said:

I am rather stuck with Sky Q, which is used by an elderly member of the household. I cannot really go down the cancellation route. 

The out-of-contract separate charges for HD are Sports £6 - £4 = £2, Sky HD £9. 

What happens if I downgrade Sky from HD to SD? Is HD for BBC, ITV, etc., lost? I did hear that Sky is planning to drop SD.

 Is Sky Sports HD still available (at £2) even when Sky HD is downgraded (-£9)?

Of course you can go down the cancellation route. When you cancel, you still have the service for another month before it gets cut off - plenty of time to have better offers pushed to you from retentions... I've almost always reconstructed with them during this period...

MeteredOut

artyboy said:

Sterlingtimes said:

I am rather stuck with Sky Q, which is used by an elderly member of the household. I cannot really go down the cancellation route. 

The out-of-contract separate charges for HD are Sports £6 - £4 = £2, Sky HD £9. 

What happens if I downgrade Sky from HD to SD? Is HD for BBC, ITV, etc., lost? I did hear that Sky is planning to drop SD.

 Is Sky Sports HD still available (at £2) even when Sky HD is downgraded (-£9)?

Of course you can go down the cancellation route. When you cancel, you still have the service for another month before it gets cut off - plenty of time to have better offers pushed to you from retentions... I've almost always reconstructed with them during this period...

We're due to be switched off in less than a week. I've not been pushed any offers, but twice had a text to call or chat to them. Not done either.

JSmithy45AD

Sterlingtimes said:

I am rather stuck with Sky Q, which is used by an elderly member of the household. I cannot really go down the cancellation route. 

The out-of-contract separate charges for HD are Sports £6 - £4 = £2, Sky HD £9. 

What happens if I downgrade Sky from HD to SD? Is HD for BBC, ITV, etc., lost? I did hear that Sky is planning to drop SD.

 Is Sky Sports HD still available (at £2) even when Sky HD is downgraded (-£9)?

The free to air channels such as the BBC & ITV etc are only available in HD on the Sky platform regardless.

MeteredOut

MeteredOut said:

artyboy said:

Sterlingtimes said:

I am rather stuck with Sky Q, which is used by an elderly member of the household. I cannot really go down the cancellation route. 

The out-of-contract separate charges for HD are Sports £6 - £4 = £2, Sky HD £9. 

What happens if I downgrade Sky from HD to SD? Is HD for BBC, ITV, etc., lost? I did hear that Sky is planning to drop SD.

 Is Sky Sports HD still available (at £2) even when Sky HD is downgraded (-£9)?

Of course you can go down the cancellation route. When you cancel, you still have the service for another month before it gets cut off - plenty of time to have better offers pushed to you from retentions... I've almost always reconstructed with them during this period...

We're due to be switched off in less than a week. I've not been pushed any offers, but twice had a text to call or chat to them. Not done either.

I decided to get them on chat and have agreed on:

Signature is normally £36.50, but you'll pay £18.50 (with an 18-month contract) This offer is for 18 months

Sky Sports in HD is normally £39, but you'll pay £13 (with an 18-month contract) This offer is for 18 months

Sky Cinema is normally £13 (offer dependency when you take Sky sports) This offer is for 18 months

Sky HD is normally £9, but you'll pay £4.00 This offer is for 18 months

Sky Ultimate TV Add is normally £4.50,

Boost to Netflix Standard is £6,

There's an admin fee of £20 to be added to your bill.

Total £59/month. It's started at £62/month and I asked them to remove the £20 admin fee, then they came back with the £3/month less but still including the admin fee.

I was a few days out from full cancellation taking place. I figure I could have gotten a few more £ off by letting it cancel, but just went ahead for the sake of simplicity.

MeteredOut

MeteredOut said:

MeteredOut said:

artyboy said:

Sterlingtimes said:

I am rather stuck with Sky Q, which is used by an elderly member of the household. I cannot really go down the cancellation route. 

The out-of-contract separate charges for HD are Sports £6 - £4 = £2, Sky HD £9. 

What happens if I downgrade Sky from HD to SD? Is HD for BBC, ITV, etc., lost? I did hear that Sky is planning to drop SD.

 Is Sky Sports HD still available (at £2) even when Sky HD is downgraded (-£9)?

Of course you can go down the cancellation route. When you cancel, you still have the service for another month before it gets cut off - plenty of time to have better offers pushed to you from retentions... I've almost always reconstructed with them during this period...

We're due to be switched off in less than a week. I've not been pushed any offers, but twice had a text to call or chat to them. Not done either.

I decided to get them on chat and have agreed on:

Signature is normally £36.50, but you'll pay £18.50 (with an 18-month contract) This offer is for 18 months

Sky Sports in HD is normally £39, but you'll pay £13 (with an 18-month contract) This offer is for 18 months

Sky Cinema is normally £13 (offer dependency when you take Sky sports) This offer is for 18 months

Sky HD is normally £9, but you'll pay £4.00 This offer is for 18 months

Sky Ultimate TV Add is normally £4.50,

Boost to Netflix Standard is £6,

There's an admin fee of £20 to be added to your bill.

Total £59/month. It's started at £62/month and I asked them to remove the £20 admin fee, then they came back with the £3/month less but still including the admin fee.

I was a few days out from full cancellation taking place. I figure I could have gotten a few more £ off by letting it cancel, but just went ahead for the sake of simplicity.

For some reason I'm not going to argue about, the above is actually appearing £1 cheaper in my future bills.

• Sky Signature, 16 Aug - 15 Sep, £17.50 (Previous price: 35.5)

• Ultimate TV Pack, 16 Aug - 15 Sep, £4.50

• Boost to Netflix Standard, 16 Aug - 15 Sep, £6.00

• Sky Sports - Complete Pack, 16 Aug - 15 Sep, £11.00 (Previous price: 33)

• Sky Cinema, 16 Aug - 15 Sep, £13.00

• Sky Sports HD, 16 Aug - 15 Sep, £2.00 (Previous price: 6)

• Sky HD, 16 Aug - 15 Sep, £4.00 (Previous price: 9)

Total £58.

marchesini46

MeteredOut said:

MeteredOut said:

artyboy said:

Sterlingtimes said:

I am rather stuck with Sky Q, which is used by an elderly member of the household. I cannot really go down the cancellation route. 

The out-of-contract separate charges for HD are Sports £6 - £4 = £2, Sky HD £9. 

What happens if I downgrade Sky from HD to SD? Is HD for BBC, ITV, etc., lost? I did hear that Sky is planning to drop SD.

 Is Sky Sports HD still available (at £2) even when Sky HD is downgraded (-£9)?

Of course you can go down the cancellation route. When you cancel, you still have the service for another month before it gets cut off - plenty of time to have better offers pushed to you from retentions... I've almost always reconstructed with them during this period...

We're due to be switched off in less than a week. I've not been pushed any offers, but twice had a text to call or chat to them. Not done either.

I decided to get them on chat and have agreed on:

Signature is normally £36.50, but you'll pay £18.50 (with an 18-month contract) This offer is for 18 months

Sky Sports in HD is normally £39, but you'll pay £13 (with an 18-month contract) This offer is for 18 months

Sky Cinema is normally £13 (offer dependency when you take Sky sports) This offer is for 18 months

Sky HD is normally £9, but you'll pay £4.00 This offer is for 18 months

Sky Ultimate TV Add is normally £4.50,

Boost to Netflix Standard is £6,

There's an admin fee of £20 to be added to your bill.

Total £59/month. It's started at £62/month and I asked them to remove the £20 admin fee, then they came back with the £3/month less but still including the admin fee.

I was a few days out from full cancellation taking place. I figure I could have gotten a few more £ off by letting it cancel, but just went ahead for the sake of simplicity.

I think that’s the view I took as well. I’m pretty sure I could have knocked off another £2-£5 if I continued with the cancellation etc but the price came down from £110 to £88 and I settled on £69 - similar to yours but with multi room and Netflix Ultimate.  That was only a week into the cancellation so now it’s just done now for another 18 months and won’t have any panicked questions like “why isa’t Netflix working” . 👍