Sky changing HD pricing structure

JDxtra

Did anybody get their July Sky magazine yet?

The UK version of the magazine has stated that from October, the £10 monthly charge for HD will now only give you the HD channels within the packs that you subscribe to.

So, if you only have the music and kids packs for example - that means you will get just one extra HD channel.

According to the T&C on the Sky UK site.... "£10 pm for the HD Pack. HD channels received depend on your Sky TV package".

Cantona's Collars

Quote:

"We are changing the way we offer our HD channels by aligning them with your Sky TV digital subscription. For example, to enjoy great dramas on Sky1 in high definition, you would need to have the Variety Pack which includes Sky1. This change will take place on or around 5th October 2010."

Minstrel27

To continue charging the monthly HD fee with this is taking the absolute piss.

Kensington

Wonder does this constitute grounds to exit a contract (with hd) during the minimum term, without penalty?

Rizzo the Rat

Not sure what the issue is. If you don't subscribe to Sky Sports do you expect to get Sky Sports HD channels if you have a basic HD pack??

Cantona's Collars

ATM. If you even subscribe to just one mix you get the hd channels in other mixes included if you pay the hd sub.The premium channels (movies+sports) are not included unless you subscribe to them aswell.Seems that the new pricing ties your hd channels to the mixes you pay for-That will entice customers Sky, not!! The vast majority of people think the 15 euro extra for hd is too much as it is and will see this move as even less value for money,not to mention the price increase in September.

Minstrel27

zerks wrote: »

not to mention the price increase in September.

Don't forget another increase next January to coincide with the UK VAT increase.

John mac

So are you saying that right now if you only have music mix and kids, but pay the HD sub

you can see history hd national geographic hd and sy fy hd ???

even though you cant see them in sd.

macjohn

zerks wrote: »

not to mention the price increase in September.

Does anyone have a link or a list of the new prices from September. I cant seem to find them online.

Klingon Hamlet

Call them up and do a deal. they're usually quite open to negotiations.

JDxtra

John mac wrote: »

So are you saying that right now if you only have music mix and kids, but pay the HD sub

you can see history hd national geographic hd and sy fy hd ???

even though you cant see them in sd.

Yes. But it's €15/per month. If you have just 2 or 3 mixes, that's a good percentage extra on top of your basic sub.

This move makes HD even less value than it was. It's a real earner for Sky now. This move is designed to extract the maximum from customers now that they many have had a taste for HD.

The ARPU (average revenue per user) for Sky is now a whopping £469 per year. I'd say they are aiming for £500 - with 10 million subscribers.

They ain't getting that kind of cash off me!

JDxtra

macjohn wrote: »

Does anyone have a link or a list of the new prices from September. I cant seem to find them online.

It's a bit early I think. We may see them published late next month. Or they might hold off until the VAT rate changes to keep the increases simpler.

John mac

JDxtra wrote: »

Yes. But it's €15/per month. If you have just 2 or 3 mixes, that's a good percentage extra on top of your basic sub.



They ain't getting that kind of cash off me!

I always thought you only got the hd channels associated with the package you were on.
not that i will be paying the extra .
I have had hd for over 2 years now and not paying a sub for it.. (not getting any channels either though)

they're getting €384 off me and think i will keep the €180

Dman001

Bad news for those with one or two packs. But as the number of HD Channels grew, it was only a matter of time before it happened unfortunately.

slegs

This is a ridiculous step..

All that will happen here is that those that were paying the 15€ per month with a couple of packs will cancel. Why continue to pay 15€ for a couple of HD channels. The only reason it was worth it was because you got all the non premium HD channels available.

They probably think they are going to push people towards buying more packs but i dont see it happening. Can see them only losing revenue here...

Only thing I can think of is that this is a precursor to removing the HD 15€ fee totoally.

Minstrel27

slegs wrote: »

They probably think they are going to push people towards buying more packs but i dont see it happening. Can see them only losing revenue here...

Sadly I can. It is amazing how many people are not able to cope without Sky TV

BArra

i only have the variety pack, thus i will lose discovery hd, nat geo hd ect ect

this must surly constitute a change to the terms and conditions letting you exit your contract, which i am def going to consider now

the bastards...

Minstrel27

Seemingly Sky now wont accept emails from Irish customers. I got the following

sky email wrote:

Thank you for contacting Sky Help Centre.


Unfortunately I am not able to deal with your query relating to your Sky account; you will need to call our Customer Service team in Ireland.

Please contact the number below and have your address, account number, viewing card number, and any password on the account as this will allow customer services to deal with your request quickly and efficiently.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The last time I checked we also couldn't change packages online. We are expected to pay for their phone line. Absolute pricks.

Our man in Havana

Kensington wrote: »

Wonder does this constitute grounds to exit a contract (with hd) during the minimum term, without penalty?

I would say it does.

Cantona's Collars

help@skycustomersupport.com or jeremy.darroch@sky.com that'l get you a response!

bossdon

Is it possible to view itv HD and BBC HD without a hd sub?

Minstrel27

Yes. They are FTA.

_Kaiser_

Minstrel27 wrote: »

Yes. They are FTA.

And no doubt Sky are sick that all those people are watching the world cup in HD for free!

I have 2 HD boxes now but neither have a HD sub. I just won't pay twice for the same channels.

Another sneaky trick they have is that even if you do pay the 15 euro, your HD channels wont appear on your multiroom box unless you pay for a HD sub for that box too!

Minstrel27

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

And no doubt Sky are sick that all those people are watching the world cup in HD for free!

They were also advertising those channels to shift some HD boxes so they wont be too upset with their availability.

Cantona's Collars

Sky latest offer-NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY OF COURSE. Get sky+hd and multiroom for 20 euro per month-thats with the hd sub,seeing as hd is 15 on its own thats not too bad.Rumours still persist that sky going to scrap hd sub in october-believe it when I see it.

azzeretti

zerks wrote: »

Sky latest offer-NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY OF COURSE. Get sky+hd and multiroom for 20 euro per month-thats with the hd sub,seeing as hd is 15 on its own thats not too bad.Rumours still persist that sky going to scrap hd sub in october-believe it when I see it.

Why would they introduce a price change at all if they were going to drop the HD price. It's an absolute piss take if you ask me.

Our man in Havana

They will not scrap the HD tax.

Minstrel27

zerks wrote: »

Rumours still persist that sky going to scrap hd sub in october-believe it when I see it.

Where are these rumours?

Cantona's Collars

That's what I said, believe it when I see it. A lot of people see it as an extra expense they can live without.

Our man in Havana

Indeed, I have cancelled the HD pack since January.

anotherlostie

I was going to get Sky and when I rang the sales agent suggested that there was no need to get a lot of packs if you were taking HD because they put the popular channels onto that one. I didn't go with them in the end, but if I had I would certainly be cancelling the HD sub when this comes in.

BArra

is this being reported anywhere else?

i havent seen anything about it on avforums, usually they would be on the ball and be up in arms over it already

Our man in Havana

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1272692

muffler

JDxtra wrote: »

It's a bit early I think. We may see them published late next month. Or they might hold off until the VAT rate changes to keep the increases simpler.

There will be an increase on Sept. 1 Source

New customers - join Sky TV, currently from €22 a month†

†Prices increase from 01/09/10.

Our man in Havana

They will need to give the usual 30 days notice and of course people in their first year are exempt form the increase until their year is up.

Hogzy

Iv never been able to see the HD channels that i wasnt subscribed to. EG im not paying for sky sports but i do have HD, but i cant see sky sports HD.

Are you telling me people can see sky sports HD even if they dont have the sports ad ons?

kippy

Hogzy wrote: »

Iv never been able to see the HD channels that i wasnt subscribed to. EG im not paying for sky sports but i do have HD, but i cant see sky sports HD.

Are you telling me people can see sky sports HD even if they dont have the sports ad ons?

Nope,
To see Sky Sports HD you must be a sports Subscriber as well as be paying the HD fee.
Same for movies..............

slegs

Hogzy wrote: »

Iv never been able to see the HD channels that i wasnt subscribed to. EG im not paying for sky sports but i do have HD, but i cant see sky sports HD.

Are you telling me people can see sky sports HD even if they dont have the sports ad ons?

Not sports or movies but you can see Discovery HD if you have the HD pack but not the documentaries pack. Same goes for MTVNHD and the music pack etc. Likewise with the HD pack you can get Eurosport HD and not have acess to the SD version.

channelsurfer2

interesting to note they mention bbchd as been in the hd pack and luxe as free to air... if I recall rightly bbchd can be access fta by anyone with an hd box here now as its on the epg???

Our man in Havana

They always do that. It is a devious way of saying there are more channels in a particular pack than there really are. They do the same with Sky News and QVC which are both FTA.

BArra

there is a lot of misinformation going around about this possible change

from what ive read, this is what i have come to assume from the bits ive read on avforums, if u have taken your sky hd sub this year, u will keep all the hd channels u have right now, no matter how many packs you have, but after the year is up, ull only get the hd chans that correspond to the packs you subscribe to.....

i'm awaiting a letter from sky anaway to clear it up, but its awfully confusing and worrying at the moment since sky is the only source avail to me, and id be sickened to have to take more packs just so i can watch some of the hd channels i frequent

snaps

Once sky have you hooked.....They just reel you in!!!!

Problem is people just keep on paying it. I went FTA and the foreign route many many years ok and i haven't looked back since. Funny thing is i get half the HD channels that Sky broadcast for 1/4 of the cost!

SyFY, Discovery, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, Animal planet, History, Eurosport 1&2, MTV...To name a few

Then you have the broadcasters own channels, Eg Films, sports

Plus the FTA channels, BBC, ITV, CH4 & soon Channel 5 (Last 2 require a FTV card)

Mr McBoatface

snaps wrote: »

Once sky have you hooked.....They just reel you in!!!!

Problem is people just keep on paying it. I went FTA and the foreign route many many years ok and i haven't looked back since. Funny thing is i get half the HD channels that Sky broadcast for 1/4 of the cost!

SyFY, Discovery, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, Animal planet, History, Eurosport 1&2, MTV...To name a few

Then you have the broadcasters own channels, Eg Films, sports

Plus the FTA channels, BBC, ITV, CH4 & soon Channel 5 (Last 2 require a FTV card)

Excellent setup snaps, I assume you've got a motorised dish ? I don't wish to drag the thread too much of subject but could you give a brief description of your dish setup and the satellites you use. I'm looking to expanded my FTA selection so any pointers so I can research further would be greatly appreciated, not to sure where to start to be honest.

snaps

jobyrne30 wrote: »

Excellent setup snaps, I assume you've got a motorised dish ? I don't wish to drag the thread too much of subject but could you give a brief description of your dish setup and the satellites you use. I'm looking to expanded my FTA selection so any pointers so I can research further would be greatly appreciated, not to sure where to start to be honest.

Yes i have a 1.1m motorised, but that barely moves off hotbird at 13 east, Ive also a fixed 70cm dish for the UK channels on 28 east.

Cyfra+/Polsat seems to be the cheapest and best subscription at the moment (Some channels only in Polish)

Also Hello HD on 9east (Hungarian) is a smashing HD package which cost about 105€ for 12 months. All channels have Original language!

JimmyOats

I had an engineer out the other day (yet another swap of the HD box :mad:) and he was telling me that they are launching the 3D service for householders later this year. He told me they'll drop or reduce the HD sub then and instead have the addtional charge for 3D.

Not sure that 3D will be the earner that HD was for them, but they are cute buggers so it wouldn't surprise me.

snaps

JimmyOats wrote: »

I had an engineer out the other day (yet another swap of the HD box :mad:) and he was telling me that they are launching the 3D service for householders later this year. He told me they'll drop or reduce the HD sub then and instead have the addtional charge for 3D.

Not sure that 3D will be the earner that HD was for them, but they are cute buggers so it wouldn't surprise me.

I think 3D will be a dead duck. HD is still the big fish to have. People wont want to folk out 1000's for a new TV and still have wear those silly glasses!

Cantona's Collars

Sky are offering HD pack and multiroom together for 20 euro a month for new customers,the small print says anyone on the offer will see it end 23 December,if the rumours of scrapping HD charge earlier than this are true anyone paying the 20 euro for both and tied into a contract would be pretty pissed off.

Minstrel27

snaps wrote: »

Funny thing is i get half the HD channels that Sky broadcast for 1/4 of the cost!

SyFY, Discovery, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, Animal planet, History, Eurosport 1&2, MTV...To name a few

Which provider is that? Most of the HD channels I would watch are on your list.

JDxtra

Latest rumour doing the rounds is that Sky will drop the HD charge... for Sky World + ESPN customers only.

That probably makes business sense, as you don't want to annoy everybody on the top package when the increases start coming in (annual increase, then the VAT increase). There would then be an incentive for other customers to take out the full package.

If this is true, then by next January those customers will be more or less paying the same amount as they are now i.e. way too much.

Cantona's Collars

I love the rumours about Sky charges,I have Sky for years and they never let anyone know about price changes until they are good and ready to tell us.I still reckon the HD sub will be dropped as they have hit the magic target of 10 million HD customers and are coming under pressure in UK from Virgin media regarding HD.It's a bit of fun trying to second guess Sky but I reckon after the shareholders meeting this month things will be clearer regarding what Sky will do regards charges.

snaps

Minstrel27 wrote: »

Which provider is that? Most of the HD channels I would watch are on your list.

Cyfra+ (Not the SyFY channel, that was FTA on another satellite)

Also a basic Canal digital (1 west) will get you those and more (Not MTV HD, which is not great anyway as most of the stuff is upscaled music videos)

HelloHD on 9east as well has a great selection of HD channels and SD channels like digitv on 1 west.