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Sky Not Doing Deals Anymore?


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Old 29-04-2016, 13:03
daleski75
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Really - I don't think it offers it for On Demand viewng - does it?
Fluid viewing as you can start watching it down stairs stop it and finish it watching it upstairs which Now TV supports.
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Old 29-04-2016, 13:06
aurichie
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Fluid viewing as you can start watching it down stairs stop it and finish it watching it upstairs which Now TV supports.
It doesn't work across all platforms though on Now TV.
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Old 29-04-2016, 13:09
jonmorris
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You need to do more planning with On Demand. You have to make sure you watch all the episodes you want to see before they disappear from the service, and often you may not even know when they are scheduled to be removed. It's a mess and a huge headache..
It's a mess because content can be removed, but that's down to Sky and how it secures rights. It could be fixed, but it isn't as big a mess a you make out on other services. So there's no reason Sky needs to make it a huge headache either.

Fluid viewing lets you take your recordings to any of your devices and screens you want, and pick up from where you left off. It's not limited to content that is still available On Demand for viewing..
But as I said, it's Sky artificially crippling a service to make On Demand less appealing, when there's no reason not to keep shows available for far longer.

I'm sure more people will take up streaming services over time. If a lot of people start to embrace the concept then I'm sure Sky will widen the offerings and increase the prices to be more in line with traditional Sky.
I am convinced Sky will move that way when it can't afford not to, but for now there's money to be made from the old fashioned broadcasting, and getting people to subscribe to packages that cost £30-80 a month, compared to me paying a tenner a month for (limited) entertainment channels and movies, plus the ability to watch on four devices.

Sky would need to be offering 80-90% off to come close to that. Now I know it can and has offered 100% off to users in the past, presumably to maintain subscriber numbers, but that's not exactly common!
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Old 29-04-2016, 13:11
daleski75
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Yep Now TV does only 2.1 audio.

There is no doubt the picture quality is much better on Sky vs. Now TV. It's very visible to the naked eye on big screens.

People like having choice regardless of how many different channels people watch on a regular basis. Now TV has very limited choice.

Fluid Viewing is very different to the Now TV resume playback functionality that works on some devices for some content.
Picture quality on Sky HD is on par with Now TV on my Apple TV but I agree for some channels the picture quality will be better on Sky.

Now TV has a limited choice of channels yes but a massive boxset catalogue to offset this.

How is fluid viewing different on sky?
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Old 29-04-2016, 13:15
aurichie
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It's a mess because content can be removed, but that's down to Sky and how it secures rights. It could be fixed, but it isn't as big a mess a you make out on other services. So there's no reason Sky needs to make it a huge headache either.
You must be joking. Netflix doesn't even report expiry dates on their content. You have to surf through third-party sites and even those are not reliable anymore as Netflix doesn't provide the accurate data to them. Amazon is very similar. It's a huge mess.

But as I said, it's Sky artificially crippling a service to make On Demand less appealing, when there's no reason not to keep shows available for far longer.
It's the rights holders actually who are very restrictive. The same restrictions are on all services. That's the advantage of recording content from satellite you bypass the nonsense and get to keep and watch the content for as long as you want it.

I am convinced Sky will move that way when it can't afford not to, but for now there's money to be made from the old fashioned broadcasting, and getting people to subscribe to packages that cost £30-80 a month, compared to me paying a tenner a month for (limited) entertainment channels and movies, plus the ability to watch on four devices.

Sky would need to be offering 80-90% off to come close to that. Now I know it can and has offered 100% off to users in the past, presumably to maintain subscriber numbers, but that's not exactly common!
If you are happy paying a tenner a month for a more limited streaming-only service then that's great. But it's a very long way from becoming the mainstream shift in behaviour.
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Old 29-04-2016, 13:47
jonmorris
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I can see programmes that are due to leave soon on Amazon. There is also the other option not mentioned, namely buying shows and films. Not an option on Netflix of course, but then you've got iTunes, Google Play etc to add to the list of choices.

Sky no longer had it all its own way. There are lots of choices.

If I pay just £10 a month, I've got a lot of money in my pocket to buy the odd day sports pass or buy/rent content elsewhere.

Now TV is there because Sky knows the future just as well as anyone else. For now it's there to attract people that may not want Sky, or can't have it. The compromises will stop a mass migration of Sky users, but can only work so long as Sky can't restrict Now TV forever as it has to compete with other on demand services.

I'm sure Now TV will get more advanced in the future, and I wouldn't be surprised if the prices start to be adjusted too.
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Old 29-04-2016, 13:52
daleski75
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My viewing habits have changed dramatically over the last few years and now 90%+ of my viewing is streamed and not recorded.

I suspect given time and with the yearly increases Sky imposes on it's customers more and more consumers will be looking at cheaper alternatives.

It wouldn't surprise me if Sky end up doing a mash-up of Now TV + recording and/or with more channels at some point either.
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Old 29-04-2016, 13:58
mred2000
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It doesn't work across all platforms though on Now TV.
I can start watching something on my NowTV box and the finish watching it on my XB1, PS4 or PC. Which platforms does it not work on?
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Old 29-04-2016, 14:55
Deacon1972
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You must be joking. Netflix doesn't even report expiry dates on their content. You have to surf through third-party sites and even those are not reliable anymore as Netflix doesn't provide the accurate data to them. Amazon is very similar. It's a huge mess.



It's the rights holders actually who are very restrictive. The same restrictions are on all services. That's the advantage of recording content from satellite you bypass the nonsense and get to keep and watch the content for as long as you want it.



If you are happy paying a tenner a month for a more limited streaming-only service then that's great. But it's a very long way from becoming the mainstream shift in behaviour.
Yes it does, when a titles nears it expiry date, the date is viewable on the bottom left of the play screen - for example, Nothing But The Truth expires 5th May. Normally gives you about 7 days notice.
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Old 29-04-2016, 15:27
mred2000
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Yes it does, when a titles nears it expiry date, the date is viewable on the bottom left of the play screen - for example, Nothing But The Truth expires 5th May. Normally gives you about 7 days notice.
They often give longer than 7 days notice, to be fair.

Amazon give zero warning.
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Old 29-04-2016, 15:42
oogam
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Getting back to whether Sky are still doing deals. I cancelled recently, not trying for a new deal. When I checked my account online there was a 35% off for 12 months offer straight away which changed to 50% when the cancellation took effect. Two weeks later I got a phone call offering 4 months free followed by 50% off for the remainder of the contract.
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Old 29-04-2016, 15:45
daleski75
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Getting back to whether Sky are still doing deals. I cancelled recently, not trying for a new deal. When I checked my account online there was a 35% off for 12 months offer straight away which changed to 50% when the cancellation took effect. Two weeks later I got a phone call offering 4 months free followed by 50% off for the remainder of the contract.
If you are willing to lose sky and/or wait then there are very good deals and yours is the best I have seen so far.

And so much for Sky clamping down on discounts hey Aurichie!!
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Old 29-04-2016, 15:49
mred2000
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If you are willing to lose sky and/or wait then there are very good deals and yours is the best I have seen so far.
Didn't someone get offered 6 months free then 6 months at 50% earlier?
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Old 29-04-2016, 15:53
daleski75
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Didn't someone get offered 6 months free then 6 months at 50% earlier?
Wow really? I must of missed that.
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Old 29-04-2016, 16:29
Deacon1972
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They often give longer than 7 days notice, to be fair.

Amazon give zero warning.
The only notification Amazon give is a tab titled 'Movies with limited time', but no date given.

Nothing for series/box sets as far as I can tell.
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Old 29-04-2016, 17:27
jonmorris
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Just logged in to My Sky and I no longer have the 35% off, and it's gone up to 50%. I assume it's automated as it ties in with my billing cycle.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2zusqese0...rcent.jpg?dl=0

Unfortunately my mind is now made up, but it's safe to say they're still doing deals.
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Old 29-04-2016, 20:01
pericom
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Sky are becoming like DFS sofas. No one pays full price apart from a few mugs!

Just got a 50% offer here, thinking of taking it.
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Old 29-04-2016, 20:20
mogzyboy
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I assume that people know that if you download the On Demand stuff to the box, it very often doesn't have an expiry date. For instance, I've been downloading Bates Motel each week instead of recording it, and it isn't going to expire. Same for Girls (Sky Atlantic). Madam Secretary does have a date, however. It'll be deleted from my box sometime in 2017.
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Old 29-04-2016, 20:26
aurichie
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I assume that people know that if you download the On Demand stuff to the box, it very often doesn't have an expiry date. For instance, I've been downloading Bates Motel each week instead of recording it, and it isn't going to expire. Same for Girls (Sky Atlantic). Madam Secretary does have a date, however. It'll be deleted from my box sometime in 2017.
The majority of content does auto delete. But like you say some content from some networks on Sky channels does not have auto deletion applied. Some movies don't auto delete either but I've noticed it's becoming increasingly rare.
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Old 29-04-2016, 20:34
mogzyboy
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The majority of content does auto delete. But like you say some content from some networks on Sky channels does not have auto deletion applied. Some movies don't auto delete either but I've noticed it's becoming increasingly rare.
I don't think this is any worse than it was when I first connected my box up in 2012. The PSBs have always had short deletion dates, but most of the pay stuff hangs around on the box for years, if not permanently.

I've just downloaded 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and that won't delete until next year.
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Old 30-04-2016, 02:18
Zeropoint1
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I think part of the problem a few people seem to have with Now TV is that it's actually missing only a few channels that could be considered worth paying for. From memory I can only think of Syfy, Nat Geo, History, H2, Universal and W. Though I accept I may have missed a couple.

Yes, I miss the odd channel such as Turbo, but I can get my Wheeler Dealers fix on quest for free anyway.

It just seems odd that some people won't accept that Now TV is a great solution for many who want a bit more television for very little outlay.

Speaking from personal experience it is rapidly becoming more and more popular over the last year or so those who only want to watch shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead but don't want to commit to a 12 month contract for various personal reasons. I can say that many of my friends are either on zero hours or temp jobs and want a bit more than Freeview and especially the shows above, but don't want to be tied down. they are also most very tech savy and fully appreciate HD and they have no issue with the picture quality.

Plus many SD channels on Sky including 1, Atlantic, Living and Movies use the God awful 544 x 540 resolution for the rather extortionate price of £21+ yet you can pay a mere £6.99 for basically the same (and sometimes better!)

It's all personal choice, but the more word spreads the more people are going to realise that they don't need an expensive subscription with a 12 month contract, especially if the only real worthy feature they loose out on is the ability to record, let's be honest with the amount of repeats you're never further than a month away from another screening at the absolute worst! (and usually most things are repeated within the same week)
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Old 30-04-2016, 06:46
dearmrman
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I think part of the problem a few people seem to have with Now TV is that it's actually missing only a few channels that could be considered worth paying for. From memory I can only think of Syfy, Nat Geo, History, H2, Universal and W. Though I accept I may have missed a couple.

Yes, I miss the odd channel such as Turbo, but I can get my Wheeler Dealers fix on quest for free anyway.

It just seems odd that some people won't accept that Now TV is a great solution for many who want a bit more television for very little outlay.

Speaking from personal experience it is rapidly becoming more and more popular over the last year or so those who only want to watch shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead but don't want to commit to a 12 month contract for various personal reasons. I can say that many of my friends are either on zero hours or temp jobs and want a bit more than Freeview and especially the shows above, but don't want to be tied down. they are also most very tech savy and fully appreciate HD and they have no issue with the picture quality.

Plus many SD channels on Sky including 1, Atlantic, Living and Movies use the God awful 544 x 540 resolution for the rather extortionate price of £21+ yet you can pay a mere £6.99 for basically the same (and sometimes better!)

It's all personal choice, but the more word spreads the more people are going to realise that they don't need an expensive subscription with a 12 month contract, especially if the only real worthy feature they loose out on is the ability to record, let's be honest with the amount of repeats you're never further than a month away from another screening at the absolute worst! (and usually most things are repeated within the same week)
The only downside with Now TV is the lack of the kids channels, other than that it offers the main channels I watch, but not so much my daughter.
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Old 03-05-2016, 08:22
ACU
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I got a call from sky yesterday. They have offered me a deal, my monthly bill is £46 and some pence. This includes the June price rise. I have had to sign a new 12 month contract, which isnt really an issue.

So it does look like deals are available.
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Old 03-05-2016, 09:27
mred2000
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I got a call from sky yesterday. They have offered me a deal, my monthly bill is £46 and some pence. This includes the June price rise. I have had to sign a new 12 month contract, which isnt really an issue.

So it does look like deals are available.
But what was the deal?
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Old 03-05-2016, 12:52
ACU
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But what was the deal?
There was no percentage that she quoted. However the bill has gone from £65 and some pence to £46 and some pence. So around 30%. I got £7.50 of my broadband, £7.53 of my original pack and £4.20 of my sky+HD pack.

There will be no price rise in June either. Thats the price for the next 12 months.
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