The man on BBC News this morning said that Sky had done this as it will cut the margin on wholesale to BT etc who have agreed to sell to customers at a certain price.
I dont mind if they get rid of the HD charge but otherwise it will have to go
Will be quite an increase to Sky World if this is the case, from £48.50 to £51 in September then to £52 when VAT goes up to 20% next April. That means for the year from April 2010 the cost will have gone up for the full package by £3.50 - a 7% rise.
That means 1 box with HD & the full package will be £62 (£71 with ESPN), before adding multiroom boxes (and the unjustified 2nd box HD fee)!
I think I have to drop the sports package as well, have to see though but it looks very likely what with current situation financially wise. Depends if it'll work on my budget I have to do come July-Aug.
Think Sky could lose a few subscribers for the sports package, not all but depends on how many do unsubscribe due to this.
I know they say everything goes up (not strictly true though is it) but it just seems to get ever more ridiculous considering Skys subscriber base also keeps going up.
If Sky World was still a reasonable price then I would quite happily take it 12 months of the year. Instead I keep a basic few mixes for most of the year and just upgrade for the odd month for certain sporting events I want to see. End result is Sky get less money off of me now than they did 6/7 years ago.
I've just phoned to cancel Sky Sports (31 day notice period now) and they were really shocked when I laid into them about the £3 extra showing complete disrespect to customers........when really they are using it to try to blow BT out of the TV market.
They had better have a plan as the changes to the HD pack, the ludicrous multiroom HD double whammy, now serious price rises above inflation in Sky World are going to cause even us as a 20 year long Sky subscriber to reassess what we pay for. Our monthly bill just for TV will now go well over £90 and that is just not on.
Especially as we paid £600 for two HD boxes (no free ones here) and because Sky decline to offer BB in North Wales will also be debarred from Anytime + when it starts.
So we see some Sky customers with FREE HD boxes, FREE 12 months HD subs, larger hard drive boxes than ours as these are now standard,and access to Anytime + which we will not get as Sky cannot offer us their BB and it is Sky BB only.
We face a huge price rise for a second class service and will, of course, not be the only ones.
I too had hoped that the realignining of HD and SD mixes meant they were planning to up the mixes by more than normal and include free HD within these (ie end the HD sub by increasing the equivalent SD mixes).
However, a £1 pm mix rise is not going to work as Sky would lose too much.
To add insult to raise Sky Sports by triple that amount just because Virgin and BT want to have access is going to be a real tester for many.
There had pretty well better be some good news coming soon or we will simply have to downgrade what we pay Sky prettty much on principle.
As I feel rather like we are being taken for mugs here.
They had better have a plan as the changes to the HD pack, the ludicrous multiroom HD double whammy, now serious price rises above inflation in Sky World are going to cause even us as a 20 year long Sky subscriber to reassess what we pay for. Our monthly bill just for TV will now go well over £90 and that is just not on.
Especially as we paid £600 for two HD boxes (no free ones here) and because Sky decline to offer BB in North Wales will also be debarred from Anytime + when it starts.
So we see some Sky customers with FREE HD boxes, FREE 12 months HD subs, larger hard drive boxes than ours as these are now standard,and access to Anytime + which we will not get as Sky cannot offer us their BB and it is Sky BB only.
We face a huge price rise for a second class service and will, of course, not be the only ones.
I too had hoped that the realignining of HD and SD mixes meant they were planning to up the mixes by more than normal and include free HD within these (ie end the HD sub by increasing the equivalent SD mixes).
However, a £1 pm mix rise is not going to work as Sky would lose too much.
To add insult to raise Sky Sports by triple that amount just because Virgin and BT want to have access is going to be a real tester for many.
There had pretty well better be some good news coming soon or we will simply have to downgrade what we pay Sky prettty much on principle.
As I feel rather like we are being taken for mugs here.
I agree with most of what you're saying though I don't think you can feel too aggrieved for paying £600 for new boxes. Everyone knows early adopters of any new technology pay a great premium, this is the same for anything new that comes out, it's not like you're being forced to pay it, you took the choice knowing what would happen in the future.
They had better have a plan as the changes to the HD pack, the ludicrous multiroom HD double whammy, now serious price rises above inflation in Sky World are going to cause even us as a 20 year long Sky subscriber to reassess what we pay for. Our monthly bill just for TV will now go well over £90 and that is just not on.
Especially as we paid £600 for two HD boxes (no free ones here) and because Sky decline to offer BB in North Wales will also be debarred from Anytime + when it starts.
So we see some Sky customers with FREE HD boxes, FREE 12 months HD subs, larger hard drive boxes than ours as these are now standard,and access to Anytime + which we will not get as Sky cannot offer us their BB and it is Sky BB only.
We face a huge price rise for a second class service and will, of course, not be the only ones.
I too had hoped that the realignining of HD and SD mixes meant they were planning to up the mixes by more than normal and include free HD within these (ie end the HD sub by increasing the equivalent SD mixes).
However, a £1 pm mix rise is not going to work as Sky would lose too much.
To add insult to raise Sky Sports by triple that amount just because Virgin and BT want to have access is going to be a real tester for many.
There had pretty well better be some good news coming soon or we will simply have to downgrade what we pay Sky prettty much on principle.
As I feel rather like we are being taken for mugs here.
Sky are fitting their equipment into certain North Wales exchanges as we speak, not sure of exactly how many but i know Wrexham Central, Wrexham North, Mold and Buckley exchanges are being kitted out.
Makes it even more of a kick for you Sky subscribers....
That article is wrong.
The amount VM paid Sky for sky sports up to 14 May 2010 was the old rate card and since then is the new regulated wholesale price set by the OFCOM formula (with the difference into escrow while CAT appeal is heard).
(The other article is confused because of Sky's deal with VM for basic and HD channels. That does not change the fact that the price for Sky Sports is the regulated wholesale price).
The £3 increase has made me definitely ponder whether I should keep the sports package.
No pondering for me, mate. I'm calling them tonight to cancel the sport, I can no longer justify paying out such a large amount for something which I only occasionally watch- mainly had it for the Liverpool games.
And after our performance last season, I might even ask for a refund !!
No pondering for me, mate. I'm calling them tonight to cancel the sport, I can no longer justify paying out such a large amount for something which I only occasionally watch- mainly had it for the Liverpool games.
And after our performance last season, I might even ask for a refund !!
I know what you mean. I actually stopped going to a few games last season as we were so poor.
Anyway I am going to leave calling Sky for a couple of days as all this bad press both from customers on forums and chief execs from rival firms must be making them think about making some sort of statement. I think I read earlier that Sky were due to announce pricing
My money is on the HD charge been dropped otherwise I can't see the point of the realigning of the HD channels that was communicated recently,
With Sky Unlimited Broadband which i've got being reduced by £2.50 per month and Sky Sports going up by £3.00 per month. So i'll only have a 50p rise. So i'm quite pleased.:)
Ian.
Anyway I am going to leave calling Sky for a couple of days as all this bad press both from customers on forums and chief execs from rival firms must be making them think about making some sort of statement.
They have made a statement - see final 3 paragraphs of Media Guardian article:
Demanding on how you look at it, sky is arguable a good priced product, depending on what you want to see.
The BT vision & Virgin media pricing is confusing, i cant even find a basic overall price, coz u got phonelines, and other rubbish we dont need to consider.
At least with sky you have a clear channel package / pricing struction. Although it is very expensive, I too same with other people are hoping for intergated HD with.. at the very least sky sports, so the £3 increase would look repectable.
They have made a statement - see final 3 paragraphs of Media Guardian article:
The minimum price to get Sky Sports 1 + 2 from BT is £47.77 and for that you don't get any basic TV package at all.
Am I missing something? According to BTs site, you pay:
17.99 for TV, Broadband and Calls
11.54 for Line Rental
11.99 for Sky Sports 1+2 & ESPN
Which comes to £41.52 a month for BT Vision, BT Broadband, BT Line Rental, Weekend Calls, Sky Sports 1+2 & ESPN, a free BT Home Hub wireless router, and free connection (worth £128) if needed. This seems dead cheap to me. Admitedly there is a £60 fee for the box, but that's pretty good if you also want a freeview recorder.
Comments
Single sports 1 or 2 is up £4/month if you have any mixes.
Sky world is up £2.50/month.
Most other things are up £1.
I know i will not be adding movies or sport back now we have an idea of the new prices.
I dont mind if they get rid of the HD charge but otherwise it will have to go
The £3 increase has made me definitely ponder whether I should keep the sports package.
That means 1 box with HD & the full package will be £62 (£71 with ESPN), before adding multiroom boxes (and the unjustified 2nd box HD fee)!
Think Sky could lose a few subscribers for the sports package, not all but depends on how many do unsubscribe due to this.
If Sky World was still a reasonable price then I would quite happily take it 12 months of the year. Instead I keep a basic few mixes for most of the year and just upgrade for the odd month for certain sporting events I want to see. End result is Sky get less money off of me now than they did 6/7 years ago.
Yes they have put the price up.
I think this one is also worth writing to jeremy.darroch@bskyb.com
I so hope their subscriber numbers get hammered for this
Especially as we paid £600 for two HD boxes (no free ones here) and because Sky decline to offer BB in North Wales will also be debarred from Anytime + when it starts.
So we see some Sky customers with FREE HD boxes, FREE 12 months HD subs, larger hard drive boxes than ours as these are now standard,and access to Anytime + which we will not get as Sky cannot offer us their BB and it is Sky BB only.
We face a huge price rise for a second class service and will, of course, not be the only ones.
I too had hoped that the realignining of HD and SD mixes meant they were planning to up the mixes by more than normal and include free HD within these (ie end the HD sub by increasing the equivalent SD mixes).
However, a £1 pm mix rise is not going to work as Sky would lose too much.
To add insult to raise Sky Sports by triple that amount just because Virgin and BT want to have access is going to be a real tester for many.
There had pretty well better be some good news coming soon or we will simply have to downgrade what we pay Sky prettty much on principle.
As I feel rather like we are being taken for mugs here.
I agree with most of what you're saying though I don't think you can feel too aggrieved for paying £600 for new boxes. Everyone knows early adopters of any new technology pay a great premium, this is the same for anything new that comes out, it's not like you're being forced to pay it, you took the choice knowing what would happen in the future.
I am surprised none of you have seen / quoted this
Virgin Media is not thought to be affected by Sky's retail price increases as it has a separate carriage agreement with the satellite broadcaster.
Last paragraph http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/news/a236320/bt-sky-clash-on-sky-sports-pricing.html
Makes it even more of a kick for you Sky subscribers....
Sky are fitting their equipment into certain North Wales exchanges as we speak, not sure of exactly how many but i know Wrexham Central, Wrexham North, Mold and Buckley exchanges are being kitted out.
That article is wrong.
The amount VM paid Sky for sky sports up to 14 May 2010 was the old rate card and since then is the new regulated wholesale price set by the OFCOM formula (with the difference into escrow while CAT appeal is heard).
Confirmed by BBC story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10472058.stm
(The other article is confused because of Sky's deal with VM for basic and HD channels. That does not change the fact that the price for Sky Sports is the regulated wholesale price).
No pondering for me, mate. I'm calling them tonight to cancel the sport, I can no longer justify paying out such a large amount for something which I only occasionally watch- mainly had it for the Liverpool games.
And after our performance last season, I might even ask for a refund !!
I know what you mean. I actually stopped going to a few games last season as we were so poor.
Anyway I am going to leave calling Sky for a couple of days as all this bad press both from customers on forums and chief execs from rival firms must be making them think about making some sort of statement. I think I read earlier that Sky were due to announce pricing
My money is on the HD charge been dropped otherwise I can't see the point of the realigning of the HD channels that was communicated recently,
Ian.
They have made a statement - see final 3 paragraphs of Media Guardian article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/01/bt-sky-sports-bundle
The minimum price to get Sky Sports 1 + 2 from BT is £47.77 and for that you don't get any basic TV package at all.
If you want a basic TV package as well then it's £57.99.
And of course for that you get no SS3, no SS4, no SSN, no red button and no HD option.
See post 3 of link below.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=41434407#post41434407
Demanding on how you look at it, sky is arguable a good priced product, depending on what you want to see.
The BT vision & Virgin media pricing is confusing, i cant even find a basic overall price, coz u got phonelines, and other rubbish we dont need to consider.
At least with sky you have a clear channel package / pricing struction. Although it is very expensive, I too same with other people are hoping for intergated HD with.. at the very least sky sports, so the £3 increase would look repectable.
Am I missing something? According to BTs site, you pay:
17.99 for TV, Broadband and Calls
11.54 for Line Rental
11.99 for Sky Sports 1+2 & ESPN
Which comes to £41.52 a month for BT Vision, BT Broadband, BT Line Rental, Weekend Calls, Sky Sports 1+2 & ESPN, a free BT Home Hub wireless router, and free connection (worth £128) if needed. This seems dead cheap to me. Admitedly there is a £60 fee for the box, but that's pretty good if you also want a freeview recorder.
Ref:
http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=25634