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phantom

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phantom

phantom

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Noticed the following article on the MSE website, may be of use to someone on here?

All Sky Sports channels will only be shown in HD from October, the broadcaster has begun telling customers. And while it's yet to give full details of the changes, if you get full Sky Sports, aren't on a promo deal and don't currently watch in HD, your bill may rise by £24/year - even if your TV can only handle standard definition. 

From 1 October, all Sky Sports channels will be broadcast in HD and will no longer be available in standard definition. As a result, the cost of the full Sky Sports package will increase by £2/mth. 

If you don't currently have HD and are out of contract (ie, not on a promo deal), you'll see your bill go up in October. If you are still in contract, you won't see any price change until your contract ends - though you'll still get to watch the sports channels in HD from 1 October. 

Sky hasn't yet given us full details of the shake-up, so it's not clear if some customers could also gain from the changes. For example, the standard price to get HD currently is an extra £6/mth, and the broadcaster hasn't yet told us if those who pay that now will soon pay less.

Below is what we know so far. Sky says it's in the process of writing to affected customers at the moment to explain the changes - but some who've been contacted have already responded angrily and dubbed it a "blatant price rise". 

For top tips on cutting your bills, see our Haggle with Sky guide.

I'm hit by the price rise - can I leave penalty-free?

This price rise only affects Sky Sports viewers who are out of contract immediately - if you're still in contract, your bill WON'T change until your current deal comes to an end. 

Any customer who is out of contract and  wishes to cancel penalty-free can do so by giving 30 days' notice, whether or not you're affected by these latest changes. So if you have been hit and are unhappy and want to leave, you can do so. Full instructions on how to do this are on the Sky website, but in brief, you can call it on 03300 413 018 or use the online chat function.

If you're affected but DON'T want to leave Sky, you may be able to use this price rise as valuable haggling ammunition to get a better deal. Check out our Sky Haggling guide for full help on how to do this, but here are a few tips to get you started:

  • Benchmark the best deal elsewhere so you ask for a realistic discount.
  • Get through to the retentions (sometimes called disconnections) department. They have the most power to slash costs, as their job is to keep you.
  • Use charm and be friendly. Aggression or anger will just put their back up.
  • Don't panic if they call your bluff and say they'll disconnect you.
  • Problems mean discounts, so if you've had issues with Sky in the past – eg, slow broadband – politely tell it when you haggle.

'This is just a blatant price hike'

We've seen a number of complaints from Sky Sports customers who say they don't want to  watch in HD and believe the change is essentially a price hike.

Sky Sports customer Justin, from Merseyside, told us: "I think this stinks. I’m happy watching my sports channels in normal vision so this is just a blatant price hike. I’m a pensioner so every pound counts."

And here are some of the similar complaints we've seen on social media:

@SkyUK umm thanks but I'm ok with the sky sports i have now so you can forget about ripping me off. pic.twitter.com/1ncF9jgQqZ

— DJ Williams (@DJWilliamsmagic) September 11, 2018

Interesting ploy by Sky. Replacing all standard definition sports channels with HD for an extra £2 a month. An enforced price rise then. Like they say, details make all difference. #greed pic.twitter.com/hErVysbEFv

— Rob Summerfield (@RobSummerfield1) September 14, 2018

I’m annoyed @SkyUK @SkyHelpTeam are upgrading my subscription to Sky Sports HD and charging me £2 extra a month without ever asking me. I don’t even have an HD TV so nothing will change for me. And feel no need to see every blade of grass anyway!

— EdB MumMe (@EdB_MumMe) September 12, 2018

I pay £6/mth to upgrade to HD - will my bills be cut?

Currently Sky Sports charges an extra £6/mth for HD. We've asked Sky whether customers who pay this will see their bills reduced.

It hasn't given us an answer yet, but it has told customers who've asked this question on social media that they should have been contacted and had the changes explained. That in itself doesn't answer the question, but if you are in this situation it may be worth checking your emails and post. 

We'll update this story once we get clarification from Sky.

What if I watch Sky Sports but don't get every channel?

It's not entirely clear if customers will be affected in this situation as we're still waiting for full details from Sky. It has told us that the standard prices for individual channels will be £18/mth for one sports channel or £22/mth for two. Sky says this mirrors the price that you pay for individual sports channels at the moment.

However, as above, it's not clear how those already paying extra for HD will be affected by these changes. We're checking this with Sky and will update this story when we know more. 

I watch Sky Sports on another provider - am I affected?

This is another unanswered question. We've asked Sky if customers who get Sky Sports channels through other providers, for example Virgin Media, are affected. We'll update this story once we hear back.

What does Sky say?

A Sky spokesperson said: “We want to make sure we are offering customers the best possible viewing experience and so from 1 October, we will be offering Sky Sports in HD as standard.

"Customers who don’t currently have an HD box can upgrade free of charge.”

 

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alandicks

alandicks

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Not with Sky but Virgin Media who will probably pass the charge on despite just reviewing my contract. I was quite shocked to find that my Broadband, Sky Sports package is my third highest outgoing from our household budget, my missus does all the money stuff. Also cheesed off at having to ring every year to try and get the bloody bill down.

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kmpowell

kmpowell

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10 minutes ago, phantom said:

 

I pay £6/mth to upgrade to HD - will my bills be cut?

Currently Sky Sports charges an extra £6/mth for HD. We've asked Sky whether customers who pay this will see their bills reduced.

It hasn't given us an answer yet, but it has told customers who've asked this question on social media that they should have been contacted and had the changes explained. That in itself doesn't answer the question, but if you are in this situation it may be worth checking your emails and post. 

We'll update this story once we get clarification from Sky.

The answer to this is easy. No your bills won't be cut.

At the start of September Sky reduced the cost of Sky Sports HD from £6pcm to £2pcm for all new contracts. For anybody in existing contracts that have not yet expired, you will continue to pay your current rate as per the terms & conditions of your agreement. However, for all new customers or customers starting new contracts, the rate will be £2 per month.

 

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Undy English

Undy English

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My in-laws recently cancelled their Sky package, which included HD Sports, as they couldn't justify the costs anymore.

When I found out what they were actually paying a month, I couldn't believe it. Ridiculously expensive - surprised so many people in the current economic climate can actually afford to spend that on TV a month. 

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EnderMB

EnderMB

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I mainly use Sky Sports to watch WWE, so the football is a bonus for me.

Since WWE has been piss poor for a few months, I was thinking of getting rid of Virgin Media completely. We pay £100 a month for it, and it's not worth half of that. I'm tempted to switch to a different internet provider and get Now TV alongside my existing Amazon Prime and Netflix subscriptions. This way, we don't miss out on anything, and when I need to watch the football I can do it online.

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BS2 Red

BS2 Red

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This is potentially terrible news for me.

I cancelled Sky quite some time ago but still use the Sky box as a way to watch free to air channels.  For some reason Sky never switched off the Premier League channel and I have been getting it free for ages.  It only comes through in SD though, so this change might mean they finally cut me off.

I will be furious if my freebie stops! ;) 

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ChippenhamRed

ChippenhamRed

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I couldn’t justify the price of Sky and stopped a couple of years ago.

I now have the BT Sport App for £5/mth on top of my already-competitive broadband deal with Plusnet. I then put this on my telly via AirPlay from iPad to Apple TV.

For occasions when I want Sky (ie when City are on), I use Now TV via my Apple and pay for a day pass.

All of the above is in HD.

I find this a very economic way of watching live sport, without paying a lot for stuff I don’t actually want.

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Chivs

Chivs

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On 19/09/2018 at 11:49, ChippenhamRed said:

I couldn’t justify the price of Sky and stopped a couple of years ago.

I now have the BT Sport App for £5/mth on top of my already-competitive broadband deal with Plusnet. I then put this on my telly via AirPlay from iPad to Apple TV.

For occasions when I want Sky (ie when City are on), I use Now TV via my Apple and pay for a day pass.

All of the above is in HD.

I find this a very economic way of watching live sport, without paying a lot for stuff I don’t actually want.

For those over 30, I can translate.

@ChippenhamRed is saying he's geeky but canny.

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...

Posted
Posted
On 19/09/2018 at 10:05, phantom said:

Noticed the following article on the MSE website, may be of use to someone on here?

All Sky Sports channels will only be shown in HD from October, the broadcaster has begun telling customers. And while it's yet to give full details of the changes, if you get full Sky Sports, aren't on a promo deal and don't currently watch in HD, your bill may rise by £24/year - even if your TV can only handle standard definition. 

From 1 October, all Sky Sports channels will be broadcast in HD and will no longer be available in standard definition. As a result, the cost of the full Sky Sports package will increase by £2/mth. 

If you don't currently have HD and are out of contract (ie, not on a promo deal), you'll see your bill go up in October. If you are still in contract, you won't see any price change until your contract ends - though you'll still get to watch the sports channels in HD from 1 October. 

Sky hasn't yet given us full details of the shake-up, so it's not clear if some customers could also gain from the changes. For example, the standard price to get HD currently is an extra £6/mth, and the broadcaster hasn't yet told us if those who pay that now will soon pay less.

Below is what we know so far. Sky says it's in the process of writing to affected customers at the moment to explain the changes - but some who've been contacted have already responded angrily and dubbed it a "blatant price rise". 

For top tips on cutting your bills, see our Haggle with Sky guide.

I'm hit by the price rise - can I leave penalty-free?

This price rise only affects Sky Sports viewers who are out of contract immediately - if you're still in contract, your bill WON'T change until your current deal comes to an end. 

Any customer who is out of contract and  wishes to cancel penalty-free can do so by giving 30 days' notice, whether or not you're affected by these latest changes. So if you have been hit and are unhappy and want to leave, you can do so. Full instructions on how to do this are on the Sky website, but in brief, you can call it on 03300 413 018 or use the online chat function.

If you're affected but DON'T want to leave Sky, you may be able to use this price rise as valuable haggling ammunition to get a better deal. Check out our Sky Haggling guide for full help on how to do this, but here are a few tips to get you started:

  • Benchmark the best deal elsewhere so you ask for a realistic discount.
  • Get through to the retentions (sometimes called disconnections) department. They have the most power to slash costs, as their job is to keep you.
  • Use charm and be friendly. Aggression or anger will just put their back up.
  • Don't panic if they call your bluff and say they'll disconnect you.
  • Problems mean discounts, so if you've had issues with Sky in the past – eg, slow broadband – politely tell it when you haggle.

'This is just a blatant price hike'

We've seen a number of complaints from Sky Sports customers who say they don't want to  watch in HD and believe the change is essentially a price hike.

Sky Sports customer Justin, from Merseyside, told us: "I think this stinks. I’m happy watching my sports channels in normal vision so this is just a blatant price hike. I’m a pensioner so every pound counts."

And here are some of the similar complaints we've seen on social media:

@SkyUK umm thanks but I'm ok with the sky sports i have now so you can forget about ripping me off. pic.twitter.com/1ncF9jgQqZ

— DJ Williams (@DJWilliamsmagic) September 11, 2018

Interesting ploy by Sky. Replacing all standard definition sports channels with HD for an extra £2 a month. An enforced price rise then. Like they say, details make all difference. #greed pic.twitter.com/hErVysbEFv

— Rob Summerfield (@RobSummerfield1) September 14, 2018

I’m annoyed @SkyUK @SkyHelpTeam are upgrading my subscription to Sky Sports HD and charging me £2 extra a month without ever asking me. I don’t even have an HD TV so nothing will change for me. And feel no need to see every blade of grass anyway!

— EdB MumMe (@EdB_MumMe) September 12, 2018

I pay £6/mth to upgrade to HD - will my bills be cut?

Currently Sky Sports charges an extra £6/mth for HD. We've asked Sky whether customers who pay this will see their bills reduced.

It hasn't given us an answer yet, but it has told customers who've asked this question on social media that they should have been contacted and had the changes explained. That in itself doesn't answer the question, but if you are in this situation it may be worth checking your emails and post. 

We'll update this story once we get clarification from Sky.

What if I watch Sky Sports but don't get every channel?

It's not entirely clear if customers will be affected in this situation as we're still waiting for full details from Sky. It has told us that the standard prices for individual channels will be £18/mth for one sports channel or £22/mth for two. Sky says this mirrors the price that you pay for individual sports channels at the moment.

However, as above, it's not clear how those already paying extra for HD will be affected by these changes. We're checking this with Sky and will update this story when we know more. 

I watch Sky Sports on another provider - am I affected?

This is another unanswered question. We've asked Sky if customers who get Sky Sports channels through other providers, for example Virgin Media, are affected. We'll update this story once we hear back.

What does Sky say?

A Sky spokesperson said: “We want to make sure we are offering customers the best possible viewing experience and so from 1 October, we will be offering Sky Sports in HD as standard.

"Customers who don’t currently have an HD box can upgrade free of charge.”

 

No, I don't have Sky Sports, as I am not a multi-millionaire.

 

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Frenchay Red

Frenchay Red

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Sky and Virgin seem to charge so many different prices for the same thing. Seems you have to barter and barter hard to get discounts. I had the whole HD Sky package, sports, cinema, etc (but not BT sports) for £25 pm for the last 3 years. This deal has finally ended and was due to increase to over £80. So I told them I was leaving and after a lot of haggling got the same package for a little under £34 pm. for the next 12 months. Friend of mine is paying Virgin over £100 pm for the equivalent deal, having never threatened to leave each time it goes up.

No wonder savvy folk look elsewhere!

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Guest

Guest

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On 19/09/2018 at 11:49, ChippenhamRed said:

I couldn’t justify the price of Sky and stopped a couple of years ago.

I now have the BT Sport App for £5/mth on top of my already-competitive broadband deal with Plusnet. I then put this on my telly via AirPlay from iPad to Apple TV.

For occasions when I want Sky (ie when City are on), I use Now TV via my Apple and pay for a day pass.

All of the above is in HD.

I find this a very economic way of watching live sport, without paying a lot for stuff I don’t actually want.

I do similar for BT but found out that chrome cast works so much better. Once you start streaming you can close the app down on the iPad/phone and it works directly through the cc device. 

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BTRFTG

BTRFTG

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On 19/09/2018 at 10:05, phantom said:

All Sky Sports channels will only be shown in HD from October

Martyn Lewis needs to check his facts as that's not true. They also show fixtures in UHD and I doubt very much that they'll have the bandwidth to broadcast red button services on HD but if they do , even better.

Frankly amazed anybody can tolerate watching anything in 720/576, unless you're still on a 12" B&W mini portable.

I really hate Ludditism in this form. The days of TV being 'aired',  broadcasters giving you what they want when they want is dead. Broadcast these days is an ability to watch what one wants, when one wants it and wherever one chooses. If you don't want Sky you don't have to subscribe (unlike the BBC,) ditto every other broadcasting service on the market. If you think it's expensive, fine, say so. If it's not for you, fine also. I don't have BT or whatever that streaming channel is but if you do good luck to you.

Sky Sports revolutionised coverage in the UK and those of us old enough to have appreciated Grandstand and Sportsnight With Coleman struggle to accept just how poor things were in those days (hence one had to go to the game.)

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The dastardly red

The dastardly red

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49 minutes ago, Red Cloud said:

ditched Sky 4 years ago after they whacked the price up £50 a year after LOSING the champions league, now instead of £800 I pay £70 A YEAR for just about every channel on the planet and not a penny goes in to Murdoch's Pockets - IPTV is the way to go!

How do I go about getting this IPTV? In simple terms? Cheers

 

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reddoh

reddoh

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21 minutes ago, BTRFTG said:

Martyn Lewis needs to check his facts as that's not true. They also show fixtures in UHD and I doubt very much that they'll have the bandwidth to broadcast red button services on HD but if they do , even better.

Frankly amazed anybody can tolerate watching anything in 720/576, unless you're still on a 12" B&W mini portable.

I really hate Ludditism in this form. The days of TV being 'aired',  broadcasters giving you what they want when they want is dead. Broadcast these days is an ability to watch what one wants, when one wants it and wherever one chooses. If you don't want Sky you don't have to subscribe (unlike the BBC,) ditto every other broadcasting service on the market. If you think it's expensive, fine, say so. If it's not for you, fine also. I don't have BT or whatever that streaming channel is but if you do good luck to you.

Sky Sports revolutionised coverage in the UK and those of us old enough to have appreciated Grandstand and Sportsnight With Coleman struggle to accept just how poor things were in those days (hence one had to go to the game.)

They do a 12" now what was wrong with the 5" with built in radio that would run on mains or batteries.

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