so do you think that the way forward for sport is, the only one`s who can afford the subscription can watch it . no one will win in this war except the Shareholders of Sky, BT and anyone else who wants to get in the sport bidding roulette

If all the clowns that demanded a retention deal every time the wind changes then the prices might not rise much or at all. Same goes for those who can't afford Sky, yet feel the need to have it and come bill time they can't pay...

Nice way to insult people....no one demands anything, the decision falls entirely to Sky.

I couldn't care less if it was insulting or not. Some people really need a reality check as far too many in this country live out with their means... Sky don't help by buckling in when customers throw the toys out the pram because they don't get what they want or their neighbours neighbour gets the same package 50p cheaper. If someone calls to cancel, they should be shown the door. End of...

So I take it you never try to get discount on anything then...always happy to pay full price no matter what it is. And if someone offered you a discount the very thought would offend you and you would refuse. Otherwise you would just be a hypocrite.

Indeed. It's Sky that allow all these deals when people threaten to cancel so if powar feels they have to blame someone blame Sky. They obviously feel that they make more money by offering the deals - that doesn't necessarily mean they do just that they think so, they probably do but companies don't always get these things right especially near monopolies.

Personally I think the problem is that Sky is one big monopoly controlling distribution and product, I would prefer it split up such that the boxes etc were open and you bought the packages separately. I would love to be able to just by the UKTV and get all the "free" HD channels without going via Sky and their exclusive contracts.

So Sky put their prices up by anything up to 10%. My salary didnt increase by up to 10%. I didnt even have an increase in many years yet I am to fork out extra when my content apart from Encore hasnt increased. Sick of this country, utilities, house prices, transport, fuel everything goes up except the stuff needed to pay with. All countries have their problems but we seem to face the squeeze more since the credit crunch. Dont people in govt get more money will be spent by things DECREASING????? nevermind we are all in this together. Im sure millionaire Camerloon is facing the squeeze like the rest of us

Sky WILL NOT put their overall prices up by 10%, they only mention that now, so that if anyone orders now, they cannot say they didn't know about the price increase that was coming, and 10% is what they say in their T&C's is the maximum increase permitted in your initial contract year.

The increase is more likely to be about 2%.

At one point Setanta subs were £14.99 p/m, but I saw they were advertising it for £9.99 p/m. Having checked all the small print I couldn't see anything that said 'new customers only', so I phoned up and said I wanted to cancel and then immediately asked to resubscribe at £9.99 p/m. The phone operator checked and admitted there was nothing to stop me doing that, however according to you I should have carried on paying £14.99 then?

So if I am a new customer today I will have to pay 2% extra in 3 months time? I repeat my salary hasnt gone up in years but everything else has. If things DECREASE then more people will buy things. But no, thats not gonna happen cos the Brits take it all and dont fight against increases.

And that's the bottom line, it's not about what customers want it's about how much can we make for the shareholders. Unfortunately this is the by product of a capitalist society with open and free markets, the alternative is to return to nationalised industry where the government controls everything.

It's on a product by product basis. Last year only Multiroom went up by 10% which was an entire pound.

This year only Sky Go Extra might go up by 10% which would only be 50p. Get it.

[quote=bobcarI would prefer it split up such that the boxes etc were open and you bought the packages separately. I would love to be able to just by the UKTV and get all the "free" HD channels without going via Sky and their exclusive contracts.[/QUOTE]

Everyone would love to be able to subscribe to just the program's or package they wanted without having to have. Basic sub first. I doubt very much that is ever likely to happen as it's the basic sub that keeps the profit margin up.

The simple answer is, if you can't afford it, don't subscribe.

Sky TV is a luxury, not a necessity like Water Rates or Council Tax, you have a choice, and if you don't like the prices, then use Freesat or Freeview, which is there to use for free (licence fee may be payable), once you have the relevant equipment.

Believe it or not if there is something I need or want in life I pay what I feel is of value. If I can't afford something I'm not going to go begging for it.

and of course the other thing is, if we spilt all the packages up into seperate subs, overall people would be paying a lot more, and no doubt saying if they all came under one package it would be cheaper !

My point is not if I can afford it or not, my problem is that everything goes up, nothing comes down. More people would be happier in this lazy grey country if prices went down. The companies would have more customers. Salaries havent increased why does evrything else increase?

Only if you take the lot, it's a bit annoying having to take Sky 1, Atlantic etc just to get the UKTV channels. The way it should work is smaller packages but you get a discount if you take them all or most.

It was better before when you could exclude parts such as music and kids but presumably too many were doing that.

It's not the only alternative, you can have competition where the competition part is enforced by law. This would mean Sky not having a monopoly on content and delivery with the only option being take it or leave it

Your salary hasn't increased, doesn't mean everyone's hasn't.

Have Sky increased the salary of their employees?
Have Sky got increased costs like the increase in Electric, Gas, Petrol/Diesel, etc.?

There are a multitude of costs involved in running a company, and inflation tells you that prices go up year on year, sorry if your wages haven't, but don't base your own experiences on the rest of the world.

Sky is a business. Businesses are generally willing to negotiate on price. I guarantee Sky negotiates hard in the deals it does with rights-holders. I see no problem with consumers doing the same with Sky, especially when Sky is openly willing to negotiate with customers.

People are saving hundreds of pounds of year through having the ability to negotiate a little, and being willing to invest 20 minutes in a phonecall. If you think this makes these people clowns, well it would explain why you're paying full price and seem delighted to be doing so.

I can promise you, many of these people negotiating discounted deals could easily afford to pay full price. But why would they when they know they can get a much better deal with a minimal investment in time?

They may well be increasing their prices, but I won't be charged extra... This year or next...!

I'm sure Sky have done the numbers and offering deals brings them more profit overall. If that wasn't the case trust me they wouldn't do it.

So rather than smaller increases there would actually be bigger ones.

I've never understood the argument that people shouldn't try and get the best deal. If you can get something cheaper then do it. Why wouldn't you?

As for people living beyond their means, well if they get a discount they're more likely to be living within them.

As all the customers of Sky do, it is Sky that does the begging not the customer, a customer can ask, if Sky say no then the customer cancels...and guess what Sky will usually call you before your contract ends to offer a discount..so who again is doing the begging?

It's amazing how many people see Sky as a public utility. They're a private company and the only people they need to answer to are their shareholders.

I don't know the prices over the years but I'm sure Sky is cheaper now in real terms than the 90s. With infinitely more choice and technological advancements.

Wish I could say the same about our utilities.