Sky Card

Johnboy1951

What do Sky gain by insisting their cards are used only in hardware they supply?

This part of their terms & conditions throws up some anomalies now and again ..... for instance Setanta providing a Sky branded card for reception of their FTV content supported by the BAI scheme.
Setanta does not insist on the use of Sky hardware. They assured me some time ago that it was OK to use their card in a Ferguson Ariva combo STB.
So, according to Setanta, we can use the Setanta issued (Sky branded) card in any hardware we desire.
I have no idea what Sky think of that!

Would Sky not sell more subscriptions, at less cost if they did not provide the hardware?

Do other providers insist on similar terms?

What commercial advantages do Sky gain by only permitting their cards to be used in their own hardware?

muffler

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Setanta does not insist on the use of Sky hardware.

They did with me. I asked them the question by email and they were adamant that the card could only be used in a Sky box......didnt necessarily have to be a Sky subscriber but it definitely had to be a Sky box.

I have a UK FTV card and Setanta also told me that I couldnt use it and that only a ROI card would work.

Johnboy1951

sugarman wrote: »

It's a pain in the arse, as it is if you use other hardware you still have to hold onto the skybox to pop the card back into every couple of weeks to keep it active.

I use it for setanta only with a FTA setup, but find myself just using the skybox itself, as painful as it is having to deal with the "other channels" and no EPG.

I'm sure it is - I don't use a Sky box, and gave up on the Setanta FTV card as I was unable to find any information on upcoming FTV events.
I am only trying to figure out what Sky gain commercially by keeping their cards locked to their hardware.

Wanderer78

Johnboy1951 wrote:

I'm sure it is - I don't use a Sky box, and gave up on the Setanta FTV card as I was unable to find any information on upcoming FTV events. I am only trying to figure out what Sky gain commercially by keeping their cards locked to their hardware.

Security reasons. It's called card pairing. It's to try prevent activities such as card sharing etc.

notmyusername

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Security reasons. It's called card pairing. It's to try prevent activities such as card sharing etc.

To a degree.

Don't forget they also make a fortune by selling EPG slots

And there's also central control when customers are using the same box - especially in terms of customer service.

Don't forget other situations such as "Red Button" feeds.

Johnboy1951

muffler wrote: »

They did with me. I asked them the question by email and they were adamant that the card could only be used in a Sky box......didnt necessarily have to be a Sky subscriber but it definitely had to be a Sky box.

I have a UK FTV card and Setanta also told me that I couldnt use it and that only a ROI card would work.

I posted a long time ago the excerpts from email communications I had with Setanta ..... and it took quite a few to get a definitive answer .... but they said yes to putting the card into an Ariva 120.
Maybe Sky clamped down, I don't know. All I do know is that I can use such a card in any box I wish (if I have the card ).

Johnboy1951

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Security reasons. It's called card pairing. It's to try prevent activities such as card sharing etc.

IIRC they had that stipulation before they had the facility to card pair.
If so it cannot be that.

Johnboy1951

notmyusername wrote: »

To a degree.

Don't forget they also make a fortune by selling EPG slots

And there's also central control when customers are using the same box - especially in terms of customer service.

Don't forget other situations such as "Red Button" feeds.

I don't know how the EPG sales might be affected if the requirement was absent, but they could quite easily refuse to consider any customer service requests unless the card was used in their hardware, so I don't see that as a reason.
Again, 'Red Button' services would be for their own hardware.

There is nothing to prevent Sky from issuing cards for use in non-Sky hardware without any support, while at the same time fully supporting those who do use their hardware.

I am trying to figure out why this would be a bad idea for them - commercially.

Wanderer78

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

IIRC they had that stipulation before they had the facility to card pair.
If so it cannot be that.

ah card sharing has been going decades now. pairing just makes the process a wee bit harder. not much by the looks of it though. im sure theres all sorts of reasons for pairing

Johnboy1951

Wanderer78 wrote: »

ah card sharing has been going decades now. pairing just makes the process a wee bit harder. not much by the looks of it though. im sure theres all sorts of reasons for pairing

You misunderstood ..... I was referring to Sky pairing the card with their hardware.
The stipulation about using the card in other than their hardware existed prior to Sky having the pairing ability, I believe.

notmyusername

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I don't know how the EPG sales might be affected if the requirement was absent, but they could quite easily refuse to consider any customer service requests unless the card was used in their hardware, so I don't see that as a reason.
Again, 'Red Button' services would be for their own hardware.

There is nothing to prevent Sky from issuing cards for use in non-Sky hardware without any support, while at the same time fully supporting those who do use their hardware.

I am trying to figure out why this would be a bad idea for them - commercially.

Of course it's a reason lol.

They make a fortune by tying everything to their own hardware - as I said, selling EPG slots to channel providers - and quite obviously EPG sales would be affected if people were free to bypass Sky's own hardware.

Of course, they also have hardware control over any recordings made; some of the major companies stipulate this when selling rights.

And, as mentioned, security control. Cardsharing was running wild at one point; locking down their HD channels has abated this to a massive degree.

notmyusername

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

You misunderstood ..... I was referring to Sky pairing the card with their hardware.
The stipulation about using the card in other than their hardware existed prior to Sky having the pairing ability, I believe.

Sky cards were always tied to the receiver to a certain degree. Premium channels, for example, were box dependant - although there was a way around this for anyone who was tech savvy.

Johnboy1951

notmyusername wrote: »

Sky cards were always tied to the receiver to a certain degree. Premium channels, for example, were box dependant - although there was a way around this for anyone who was tech savvy.

You sure?
It is many years (2 decades?) since I originally got a Sky service but have no recollection of the card being tied to one box.

notmyusername

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

You sure?
It is many years (2 decades?) since I originally got a Sky service but have no recollection of the card being tied to one box.

Yes, I'm sure. I used to use the workaround myself.