Sky cost just keeps getting worse, can you still bag a deal?

[Lisa88]

With Sky's costs getting worse every year.. what's everyones thoughts on telling Sky your leaving to bag a better deal? 

Is it still common knowledge that Sky retentions will offer you a deal, and if still going through with cancellation, maybe 1 /2 weeks later they will call again to offer a better deal to stop it going all the way? or will they just let you go?

I'm just getting fed up with the bills at the moment.

Cheers

[PandJ2020]

There's no guaranteed strategy.

Previously, I've had to threaten to leave (and once actually cancel) to get a good deal - this time they offered up without too much hassle.

[Chodley]

Welcome to the eternal march of capitalism

Yeah people have said they've had better offers after saying they're leaving. No guarantees.

[TimmyBGood]

@Lisa88 

Keep in mind that the satellite platforms are approaching end-of-life and Comcast/Sky would prefer customers to move to their streaming service.

[Lisa88]

I would move to the steaming if the contract didn't include that daft TV. If they had a box to link with my EE full fibre then I would go down that route 

I may even just see what EE has to offer 

[nigea99]

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@Lisa88 wrote:

I would move to the steaming if the contract didn't include that daft TV. If they had a box to link with my EE full fibre then I would go down that route 

I may even just see what EE has to offer 

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hi @Lisa88 

SKY Stream does just that .

[BenJoBanjo]

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@Lisa88 wrote:

I would move to the steaming if the contract didn't include that daft TV. If they had a box to link with my EE full fibre then I would go down that route 

I may even just see what EE has to offer 

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They do. It's called Sky Stream. It's been available as a standalone product for 3 years. You don't need the 'daft TV' at all. 

[Lisa88]

Can you still do everything that you can with Sky Sat, like record a few programmes at the same time, basically is there any difference to streaming than Sat?

They plug that TV so much I was under the impression you had must take the TV...when renewing I've never been offered just the Sky Stream..

What cons is there compared to using Sky TV

[PandJ2020]

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@Lisa88 wrote:

Can you still do everything that you can with Sky Sat, like record a few programmes at the same time, basically is there any difference to streaming than Sat?

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No - you don't 'record' as such as everything is hosted externally - there's no hard drive to record to.

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They plug that TV so much I was under the impression you had must take the TV...when renewing I've never been offered just the Sky Stream..

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Nope, you can plug the stream box into your existing TV.

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What cons is there compared to using Sky TV

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None really - but depends on the quality of your own TV.   (Indeed, it may be better than Sky's)

[TimmyBGood]

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@Lisa88 wrote:

What cons is there compared to using Sky TV

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While most of the mainstream channels are present on Stream*, many of the smaller services are absent.

https://www.sky.com/help/articles/tv-channel-list-sky-glass 

* a notable exception being Talking Pictures

[Lisa88]

Hmmmm ok 

So anything I want to watch like Gold Rush, American Pickers  she loves her Netflix etc, only once that episode has been aired I can then stream that episode anytime after, and I can go back through all the series and watch them? 

So presumably the Stream service is cheaper than Sky Sat as there's no need to send an expensive HD signal to your house anymore? 

We have multi room in 4 rooms, can this be done also? Is there any buffering issues? 

We have a good 77" LG OLED HDR TV, we paid more at the time due to Covid as all the cinemas were closed, so wen spent more and watched films at home.

[Bluestraw]

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@Lisa88 wrote:

Hmmmm ok 

So anything I want to watch like Gold Rush, American Pickers  she loves her Netflix etc, only once that episode has been aired I can then stream that episode anytime after, and I can go back through all the series and watch them? 

So presumably the Stream service is cheaper than Sky Sat as there's no need to send an expensive HD signal to your house anymore? 

We have multi room in 4 rooms, can this be done also? Is there any buffering issues? 

We have a good 77" LG OLED HDR TV, we paid more at the time due to Covid as all the cinemas were closed, so wen spent more and watched films at home.

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It's not necessarily cheaper but you may find a decent deal. You can have up to 6 sky stream pucks so that would work with your rooms, though potential buffering would depend on your internet. If you can stream in all rooms okay today then that should be fine.

However, there are some other drawbacks to be aware of. While you have a playlist to add content to (in lieu of 'recording'), the length of time something stays on the playlist is at the whim of the provider and can vanish. As it's stored in the cloud, you have no control over this. In particular, I believe BBC / ITV content is subject to the retention limits of iPlayer / ITVX (i.e. typically 30 days, though more in some cases). It's certainly worth thinking about your specific uses and figuring out whether Steam will suffice before you commit.

To your original question, the answer is 'yes' but probably not something to talk in detail on a Sky-monitored forum!

[Chodley]

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@Lisa88 wrote:

Hmmmm ok 

So anything I want to watch like Gold Rush, American Pickers  she loves her Netflix etc, only once that episode has been aired I can then stream that episode anytime after, and I can go back through all the series and watch them? 

So presumably the Stream service is cheaper than Sky Sat as there's no need to send an expensive HD signal to your house anymore? 

We have multi room in 4 rooms, can this be done also? Is there any buffering issues? 

We have a good 77" LG OLED HDR TV, we paid more at the time due to Covid as all the cinemas were closed, so wen spent more and watched films at home.

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They never sent it to your house before. It was a single broadcast for everyone. Now they DO have to send it to your house but over a much cheaper medium.

[Lisa88]

Hmmm ok

So anything which I would like to watch, I'd have to watch it once it becomes available or hope it's not removed. 

Where as Sky, once it's recorded it's saved on the box until deleted... ok need to think about that one

At the moment we're on the 900mb FTTP deal with EE and it's been pretty good / stable

[TimmyBGood]

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@Lisa88 wrote:

Where as Sky, once it's recorded it's saved on the box until deleted... ok need to think about that one

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Or the hardware drive fails, or satellite television ends entirely (which is likely to happen around the turn of the decade)

Technically 'recording' is permitted by a limited exemption to copyright law which enables time-shifted viewing: it's not intended to be or promoted as an archiving mechanism.