Sky Digital channel inflexibility

Lorddrakul

I have Sky Digital and have the variety and knowledge mixes.
I rang them today to see about getting British Eurosport added to the channel pack and they said that they could not do that, that I would have to take another mix pack.
Now, the person on the other end was useless in explaining the situation.

Is is possible to have a single channel added on the satellite digital package?

I am not a general sports fan all I want is something that shows WorldSuperbikes, though an alternative to BBC/RTE for MotoGP coverage would be good too.

I don't mind paying for another channel, but I do not want to pay for a bunch of stuff I'll never watch, particularly if it includes premiership football because I do not want to encourage that bunch of hair care sponsorship tossers.

Cheers,

LD

mustang68

Unfortunately you have to get the channels in packages, groups of specific genres.

Lorddrakul

Why is that? Surely it is just a flag in a database somewhere that says which accounts are associated with which channels?

Sounds like a policy as opposed to a difficulty.

LD

slumped

it's strange because I had Sky Sports package and Eurosport and then cancelled the sports package but Eurosport stayed on.

I know people with Sky Sports and No Eurosport. What package is it on?

S

Lorddrakul

Well that was one of the problems I had with the call to customer services. The person on the other end spoke with a heavy accent and little calrity. She didn't say whether it was exclusively with the Sports package or whether it could be got with another package, she just kept saying 2 4 or 6 mix packs.

At which point my patience for international relations gave out and I hung up rather than keep asking why.

LD

Hotblack Desiato

Eurosport is on the News and Events mix.

We're still on the old Family Pack and it's included in that - we always had Eurosport and never had Sky Sports.

Eurosport's MotoGP coverage is by far the best around, can't stand that wan who does the BBC commentary, Steve Parrish has been there done that but is a crap commentator, as for the guy on RTE - he tries his best...

The 'pillarbox' effect on BBC's MotoGP coverage is really bloody annoying, too.

watty

The mix packages are a marketing concept, not a technical issue. The Sky website shows which channels are in which packs, except they sometimes include channels you will get with ANY subscription or even with no sub in particular packs.

German Eurosport is free on another satellite.

Lorddrakul

So how do I get them to give me Eurosport without having to get all the other crap?

cgarvey

You need to subscribe to the News & Events mix. As mixes can only be bought in pairs, you'll probably need to pick another mix as well. So the additional cost of 2 mixes is 4.50 a month. Up to you to decide if that's worth it for you. If it's any consolation, you don't have to buy the Sky Sports premium channels (and support the blonde "tossers", of which GAA (and just about any other sport) is free of, not!), which would set you back 18-28 quid.

The inflexibility is a marketing/business decision, not a technical one, as the lads have pointed out. It also keeps billing and support costs down.

denis1501

I can't for the life of me understand what your complaining about. Just add the news & events mix and one other mix and you're sorted. You'll pay 4.50 euro extra every month.
Do you seriously think you'd be better off if Sky changed their policy and charged per channel??? You can be sure the price of Eurosport would be more than 4.50 euros a month if it was a stand alone channel! You'd end up worse off!
regards
D.

byte

If Eurosport was €4.50 or more per month, you could be sure that they'd have very few viewers.

Lorddrakul

I can't for the life of me understand what your complaining about.

What I am complaining about is the inflexibility of the service.
What I am complaining about is the fact that to get one channel I have to receive a bunch of crap I do not want.
What I am complaining about is the fact that a supposed digital service still cannot allow user controlled, on demand ordering and provisioning.
What I am complaining about is that I have to order two mixes to get one desired mix.
What I am complaining about is a bad service!
Is that enough for you?
Am I justified?
Is there now a sufficient argument for complaint?

Perhaps I should just acquiesce and give them all my money with out feedback that would at least allow them to identify that some consumers are unhappy with their options.

And another thing, I never suggested paying on a per channel basis, but how hard would it be, in what is a computer controlled system anyway, to allow a basic pack of say 100 channels to be chosen by a mix of 50 peconfigured channles with the balance chosen by users if they wish, from a pool of national or free to air channels? Instead of his bunch of mix stuff that means you are paying for things you don't want.

LD

watty

Well you could get a multisat system and learn German and only watch free channels. Up to 3500 FTA TV and about 2900FTA radio on 21 satellites.

The Channels on Satellite Pay TV (other than maybe the Irish ones) are not a right.

I agree I don't like the coarse packs. It used to be worse. Single channel or smaller pack ordering would be nice. But Sky obviously think they can maximise their income with the present setup.

Either pay what they ask and set up favorites and blue button in Guide is your personalised EPG, or don't. In either case feel free to phone/Write/email and outline your opinion.

I pay for a minimum 2 mix and occasionally cancel. (I find Variety & Knowledge gives the max number of channels I might watch). I also have multisat and motorised dish. And a TV aerial.

Lorddrakul

Well as it happens I have already ordered the extra two mix pack with news and events to get a sports channel!

I have no objections to paying for a decent service, but to be honest, for the money, I do not regard the Sky digital satelite service as a good service. It is basic, inflexibile and not very user friendly.

That being said, I'd imagine my opinion will soften come Sunday when I can listen to Randy Mamola's comments on MotoGP, as opposed to Suzi Perry (look but don't listen) and the BBC gang.

LD

denis1501

Lorddrakul wrote:

What I am complaining about is the inflexibility of the service.
What I am complaining about is the fact that to get one channel I have to receive a bunch of crap I do not want.
What I am complaining about is the fact that a supposed digital service still cannot allow user controlled, on demand ordering and provisioning.
What I am complaining about is that I have to order two mixes to get one desired mix.
What I am complaining about is a bad service!
Is that enough for you?
Am I justified?
Is there now a sufficient argument for complaint?

Perhaps I should just acquiesce and give them all my money with out feedback that would at least allow them to identify that some consumers are unhappy with their options.

And another thing, I never suggested paying on a per channel basis, but how hard would it be, in what is a computer controlled system anyway, to allow a basic pack of say 100 channels to be chosen by a mix of 50 peconfigured channles with the balance chosen by users if they wish, from a pool of national or free to air channels? Instead of his bunch of mix stuff that means you are paying for things you don't want.

LD

It's a matter of opinion I guess as to whether Sky provides a bad service or not, personally I think it's a cracking good service. I also think it's a pretty flexible service, ok, you must take 2, 4 or 6 mixes but this genre based system IS flexible (I reckon the vast majority of subscribers would agree) and, again in my opinion, not enough justification for your over the top comments above.
At the end of the day Sky are in business to make money and with a minimum two mixes they are guaranteed €21 a month from every subscriber. But the difference between 2 and 4 mixes is still only around €4.50 a month so even though you get "a bunch of crap" with the channel you want you still, in my opinion, get great value for money. You've added news and events giving you access to, (as well as Eurosport 1 and 2), Attheraces, Sky Sports News, ESPN Classic sport, etc. Those are hardly "a bunch of crap".
If you wanted an 'on demand' service for Eurosport how much would you be willing to pay for it??
Finally in answer to your question "Am I justified"?, the answer has to be no!
"Is there now a sufficient argument for complaint"?, sorry but no!
Enjoy your new channels anyway!
regards
D.

Widescreen

Lorddrakul wrote:

What I am complaining about is the inflexibility of the service.
What I am complaining about is the fact that to get one channel I have to receive a bunch of crap I do not want.
What I am complaining about is the fact that a supposed digital service still cannot allow user controlled, on demand ordering and provisioning.
What I am complaining about is that I have to order two mixes to get one desired mix.
What I am complaining about is a bad service!
Is that enough for you?
Am I justified?
Is there now a sufficient argument for complaint?

Perhaps I should just acquiesce and give them all my money with out feedback that would at least allow them to identify that some consumers are unhappy with their options.

And another thing, I never suggested paying on a per channel basis, but how hard would it be, in what is a computer controlled system anyway, to allow a basic pack of say 100 channels to be chosen by a mix of 50 peconfigured channles with the balance chosen by users if they wish, from a pool of national or free to air channels? Instead of his bunch of mix stuff that means you are paying for things you don't want.

LD

To be honest I think that while the service is good, I agree with a lot of what you say.Basically all the mixes are is a smoke screen to make the Premium channels seem less expensive than they are. ie. if you have SKysports and movies, whether you get two,four or six mixes makes so little difference to the price it seems petty to be only getting two mixes when you could get the other four for €4.50!! Skysports and movies should be obtainable as standalone mixes ,same scenario as Setanta and we would all be happy. They are forcing us to pay for what we don't really give a toss about.