Sky TV retention deals ( post your haggling successes )

Easylinkselecta

MouldyOldDough said:

What has changed within Sky ?

They used to be open to negotiation - I have been a customer since 2001 - now they set their price and stick to it - when asked for a discount / options - I am told none available - except for leaving....

I am expected to pay close to £90 per month for a service that, 10 years ago cost me less than £40.

When will they stop being greedy ?

Sky were taken over by Comcast in the USA back in 2018. They've steadily exerted more and more control over the past few years, cutting staff, moving development roles to the USA, out-sourcing customer services to overseas call centres, etc. 
The fact of the matter is, they've been haemorrhaging money since the introduction of Sky Glass and Stream. These streaming products came from Comcast and are the key thrust for their marketing as a TV service. Sky+ and Sky Q were both designed and built under the previous Murdoch administration and Comcast want rid of them.
Glass and Stream cost them a lot of money in initial development and manufacture, particularly as it was during the pandemic. 
The returns rate on the Glass TVs was a lot greater than they anticipated, largely due to poor manufacture and bug-ridden software. They've since had to change their policy and now charge a returns fee for those who want to send it back. They've also had to set up a refurb store to sell the vast quantities of returned units. It's not a good situation. 
Last year it was reported that Sky's operating losses doubled from £111million to £224million. They're not doing well. 
This is largely the reason why Comcast have read the riot act and are putting a stop to Sky's discount deals which were commonplace a few years ago. They've got to make some money and it's the customers who need to provide it. 
The introduction of the second generation Glass TV later this month is their last ditch attempt at selling a Sky branded TV. It's a gamble. If they get it right it might give them a boost, but if it fails to take off then they really are in deep doodoo.    

Max68

Looking at other rises on here I must confess I am so far pleasantly surprised at just a mere £1.49 mid contract increase by purely looking at my future bills for April and May.  Received no hike email as yet so I guess it could change with extra hikes but so far that's not a bad increase.

I pay £60 per month after a long drawn out saga last year which resulted me cancelling then getting offered a deal once the return packaging had turned up.  Signature 22.50, Netflix 4.50, Boost to Netflix without ads 6.00, Sky Sports 12.00, Cinema 8.00, Sports HD 2.00, Sky HD 5.00, Sky Go Extra 0.00.  In April the Netflix boost goes up 49p to 6.49 and Sky Sports up a pound to 13.00.  If it stays like that till renewal I can't really complain, although the one thing that does annoy me is why we have to pay for HD when that is pretty much standard these days due the the UHD add on.

Problem is my renewal is in December just before Christmas so will be a pain if I have to cancel again.  Problem is my aerial is broken so need satellite really and have to admit I do like Sky Q's interface and recording capabilities.

Cookiecrumble

Chrisandbev said:

Cookiecrumble said:

I called Sky in January to negotiate a better price. I'd been paying £65 going up to £88.50 out of contract. I was told the best they could do was £64, I asked for the new customer price of £59, but was told that wasn't possible. So told them I was leaving, expecting a phone call to persuade me back. But they didn't call, so yesterday I was disconnected. Today I called and was offered reconnection on the same Sky Q package as before for £39 a month for a 24 mth contract.

What package did you get for the £39 per month, and do you know price from April after the increase?

I've got Sky Q Signature, HD, & Sports. £39 a month plus a one off admin fee of £10. I was told the April increase would be no more than £3.90. The agent I spoke to was very helpful and so much better than the one I got when I called in January. The number I called was 0800 7591238 both times I got through quickly to a call centre in Leeds.

Cookiecrumble

JulesWinnfield said:

Cookiecrumble said:

I called Sky in January to negotiate a better price. I'd been paying £65 going up to £88.50 out of contract. I was told the best they could do was £64, I asked for the new customer price of £59, but was told that wasn't possible. So told them I was leaving, expecting a phone call to persuade me back. But they didn't call, so yesterday I was disconnected. Today I called and was offered reconnection on the same Sky Q package as before for £39 a month for a 24 mth contract.

Mine’s due to be cut off Monday. So, I’m hoping for a similar experience, but I am toying with the idea of just leaving on principle due to Sky’s determination not to comply with the OFCOM regs.

It’s just convenient to access the football via Sky with TNT added on.

I called 0800 7591238 and got a call centre in Leeds, the agent was very helpful. Personally I wouldn't have Sky. It's hubby that wants it for the sport!

JulesWinnfield

MeteredOut said:

filmAlive said:

Has anyone had any joy being able to leave mid-contract due to the rises? In their terms they say not more than a 10% increase, however mind is over 10% increase, does that mean I can break the contract? (also for anyone who has tried, is it 10% per package, or 10% of your overall subscription cost?)

The 10% increase will undoubtedly not be on what you pay, but on their base prices, before discounts.

What are the before and after prices?

This is correct. The increase is based on the total sub before discount.

Chrisandbev

Cookiecrumble said:

Chrisandbev said:

Cookiecrumble said:

I called Sky in January to negotiate a better price. I'd been paying £65 going up to £88.50 out of contract. I was told the best they could do was £64, I asked for the new customer price of £59, but was told that wasn't possible. So told them I was leaving, expecting a phone call to persuade me back. But they didn't call, so yesterday I was disconnected. Today I called and was offered reconnection on the same Sky Q package as before for £39 a month for a 24 mth contract.

What package did you get for the £39 per month, and do you know price from April after the increase?

I've got Sky Q Signature, HD, & Sports. £39 a month plus a one off admin fee of £10. I was told the April increase would be no more than £3.90. The agent I spoke to was very helpful and so much better than the one I got when I called in January. The number I called was 0800 7591238 both times I got through quickly to a call centre in Leeds.

That's a decent price considering the lack of offers out there. You should be able to check the future TV Bill on your MySky app to see what they are going to increase this by. Interested what they say.

tonkatoys61

I've just given notice to cancel when my contract ends mid March, discovered from this forum that I've been been way more than everyone else - Signature  £31.50, Sky Sports + Sky Sports HD £30, Cinema £13, Sky HD £9 total £83.50.  Did say I would consider renewal offers but they've offered me nothing (yet).  Just confirmed by text and by email of my cancellation and final bill amount.  Judging by recent posts I will probably not hear from them until just before the end date or maybe not until after.  Been a customer for 24 years but cannot see any benefit in that loyalty at all, I don't use any of their 'VIP Rewards' so I'll just let the process run out.  I'd be fine with this bill reducing to what others have said they are paying on here, I'd get rid of Sky Cinema as I barely watch more than one film a month on there. 

OldDIYer

I'm confused, can anyone help?

Sky Price
Now
Signature		29.50		12.00	17.50
Ultimate (Netflix)		4.50			4.50
Multiscreen		15.00		6.50	8.50
		49.00			30.50
April
Signature		35.70	21%	12.00	23.70	35%
Ultimate (Netflix)		4.50	0%		4.50	0%
Multiscreen		15.00	0%	6.50	8.50	0%
		55.20	13%		36.70	20%

So, gross price of Signature up 21%, net 35%
Bottom line 13%/20%
But reading comments I thought there was a limit of 10% on increases. Mine are more than that even if calculated on the before discount prices or total package prices.  Have I missed something?

MeteredOut

OldDIYer said:

I'm confused, can anyone help?

Sky Price
Now
Signature		29.50		12.00	17.50
Ultimate (Netflix)		4.50			4.50
Multiscreen		15.00		6.50	8.50
		49.00			30.50
April
Signature		35.70	21%	12.00	23.70	35%
Ultimate (Netflix)		4.50	0%		4.50	0%
Multiscreen		15.00	0%	6.50	8.50	0%
		55.20	13%		36.70	20%

So, gross price of Signature up 21%, net 35%
Bottom line 13%/20%
But reading comments I thought there was a limit of 10% on increases. Mine are more than that even if calculated on the before discount prices or total package prices.  Have I missed something?

Does your current (expiring) contract have the 10% limitation clause?

Lovetofly

Lovetofly said:

Lovetofly said:

Just nearly had a heart attack when I realised my Sky offers had ended and next month's bill was going up from £107 to £161!

Package is now:-

Signature                 £35

Ultimate                   £8

Sports +HD              £33 +£2

Cinema                    £13

HD                           £9

Multiroom                £15 

Full Fibre B/B          £46      Totalling  £161

Have just come off Sky Chat (which ended unexpectedly without confirmation of cancellation) and was offered the following:-

Signature                 £24.50

Ultimate                   £10.50

Sports + HD            £24  + £0

Cinema                    £10  

HD                           £5

Multiroom                £13

B/B                          £34      Totalling  £121

Have priced up Virgin Media which is £79 for a comparable package so definitely not going ahead with this!

Having to pay extra for HD is just ridiculous when broadcasters are all starting to provide HD programmes as standard and all TV's are HD now.

When did watching TV become so expensive???? Hoping that Mits999 knows what they're talking about as I've got a box full of recordings I'd be loathe to lose!

Got back in touch by Chat to confirm cancellation, but it hadn't been actioned. After waiting for 45 minutes to get through, I was disconnected and had to start again. Luckily got straight through this time and was then offered a total price of £115. Still too high for telly!! Have now cancelled the TV bit (31 days notice) but the broadband only had 14 days notice so am waiting a couple of weeks to cancel this.

Will keep you all updated )) !!

Hi all. Received a text message (27.1.25) asking me to get in touch about my cancellation.Only got in touch today (6.2.25) with 10 days to go before the end of TV as I know it.

Just finished a 1 hour 45 mins online chat. Have now got a deal I'm happy with. Was given 3 different prices today but wasn't interested until they got it below £100/month. I'm sure there are better prices out there but now I can keep all the recordings on my 2TB Sky Q box (It's 86% full........yes i know!).

So here's the deal:

Signature                 £24.50

Ultimate                   £10.99 (No ads on Netflix)

Sports + HD            £11  + £0

Cinema                    £13

HD                           £4

Multiroom                £10

B/B                          £24  (reduced speed to Full Fibre 100 as Superfast not needed)

             

Totalling  £97.49

This is a 24 month contract so no haggling for a good while.............

They tried to add £20 Admin fee but removed it as I'm such a longstanding customer (29 years).

All prices valid from April so no increase until April 2026.

Had to really haggle about the broadband and even express an interest in switching (received an email from Vodafone so we'll see if i have any problems!)