Charging for Ad skipping is a complete and utter disgrace

[Flimbin]

I'm new to Sky Stream and I bought it because I like to record a Rugby match I watch in the stadium and  then review certain incidents that happen during the match when I get home. I do not have Ad Skipping as I don't mind watching a few ads,  BUT I can't fast forward / rewind to any particular place as every time I stop , I have to watch the ads again. I end up just watching all the ads over and over again and not finding the bit I wanted to watch again.  Is this user error or am I correct in thinking that  Sky have made the system unusable and demand £5 a month to make is useable ?

[Fothergill1]

@Flimbin  Sky Stream should work perfectly well without Add Skipping you just have to watch the Adds.  It sounds as though there is a system glitch so try unplugging your stream puck for a minute and then plug it back in again.  It will take about a minute to reboot.

TBH charging for the privilege of using the FF/RW to get past the apps is ridiculous particularly with the lag on the FF/RW making it almost impossible to use effectively.  

[Mr+Michael+P]

I totally agree and your right trying to jump to certain parts without ad skipping is very difficult at times at it will force you to watch the ads you have try to skip past, which I agree is a disgrace. 

I currently pay for ad skipping but I hate the product it's not fit for purpose often difficult to control and let's face it at premium prices there should be no ads in on demand, I just don't understand why even if an extra fee the ads are just completely removed from recorded or on demand shows it's possible. 

I don't feel sky stream will ever be the premium product it could be without removing ads from on demand like any other service, Netflix, etc also offer? 

[Padam_Padam]

I've reverted to a NOW TV with Boost subscription on an Apple TV 4K box for watching any Sky programmes now. It gives a proper ad-free experience and is so much more pleasant to use. 

I simply will not accept such a poor implementation of fast forwarding and rewinding on Sky Stream. It is outrageous that this is a chargeable part of the subscription. Even though I've had it for free for a couple of months it's still infuriating to use and I will be cancelling my Stream subscription as soon as is possible. It's simply not worth it in my opinion. 

[Mr+Michael+P]

Same. Now TV with boost cheaper and ad free unbelievable that owned by the same company and yet they sell sky stream more expensive with ads which is unacceptable. I'm still in contract at the moment if I keep sky it will be for 4k uhd football only the sky tv drama on demand is beyond poor value with ads in on demand it not even compare to the cheaper now tv, I hope they realise and fix it but I doubt it cause why they can they will fleece us I wish more ppl would speak up and demand that all on demand content such be ad free at this price. The European version of sky stream get ad free and I might be wrong but overall cheaper than what we have to pay. 

[Fothergill1]

I have always thought that for the streaming platform Sky should simply put up the price of the basic Ultimate & Netflix subscription by maybe £2 for all subscribers and include the add skipping as part of the ultimate package. 

They could have incorporated it in the April increase.

[Jason+Golding]

I think the issue with FF/RW on sky stream relates to the remote control and not the box/software. When I use the sky remote the FF/RW is flakey at best, however when I use my LG Magic remote on the same box - the FF and RW works like a dream 

[Flimbin]

So I unplugged it and plugged it back in then found the game I saw on Friday in Playlist So I wanted to find an incident early in the game when a player was yellow carded. Should be easy to FF to it - and even Rewind if I'd gone too far, but I didn't manage to get to it and I just watched the same adverts (all of them) 5 times whilst trying.

This is  not fit for (my) purpose and it's reasonable to expect it would be without paying an extra unadvertised £5 pm. IMHO there should be laws against it

[Mr+Michael+P]

Your right it was not long ago what you are trying to do was the basic feature of any free view recorder without any extra charge. 

even if you paid the £5 ad skipping fee I think you would be surprised how poor it is, they really need to remove ads totally from on demand and improve it greatly to fast forward cloud recordings for sports like what you are trying to do. 

Even with a LG remote which might work like a dream but at that point if it's that smooth to skip ads why put them in at all it's pointless at this premium price.

I just don't think it will change, I've mentioned it many times at it just don't seem a big enough issue for most customers I really thought more would be speaking up and depending better for the price of the product. 

[Guy85]

Appalling, same issue. I just watched 15mins of ads back to back, which is longer than the programme time I was trying to fast forward to. It's a joke. 

[GB28]

I had exactly the same and it renders the use of recording/playback unusable. I also wonder if it contravenes Ofgem advertising rules about the amount of ads that can be in a certain time. The offer of addtional fees to allow you to FF ads is an insult, besides many reports that it is not much use! It puts them on a par with Ryan-air approach to customers, not one of a premuim service. I'm seriously considering going through a complaint process, all the away to Ofcom if needed to escape the contract. What I am getting now is way worse than the Sky I has 2 years ago inspite of considerable price increases - it's utterly unacceptable.

[TimmyBGood]

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@GB28 wrote:

I also wonder if it contravenes Ofgem advertising rules about the amount of ads that can be in a certain time. 

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Ofcom regulation hasn't caught up with the on-demand age: they are largely operating on legislation that's more than two decades old.  As Ad Skipping doesn't (and can't) apply to live broadcast content, I suspect it may not be covered, and technical glitches are unlikely to be penalised anyway.

[GB28]

I agree Ofcom is behind the curve, but after the long chat with Sky technical support, they are saying it is operating as designed. I guess customers will vote by going elsewhere if this is indicative of what we get.

[Padam_Padam]

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@GB28 wrote:

I agree Ofcom is behind the curve, but after the long chat with Sky technical support, they are saying it is operating as designed. I guess customers will vote by going elsewhere if this is indicative of what we get.

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That's what I did. The poor functionality of Sky Stream was enough for me to stop being a Sky customer after 18 years, It turned watchung TV into an infuriating experience, 

I'm so pleased to be rid of it TBH. The alternative TV streaming service we now use is so much more polished and reliable. 

[Anonymous]

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@Padam_Padam wrote:

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@GB28 wrote:

I agree Ofcom is behind the curve, but after the long chat with Sky technical support, they are saying it is operating as designed. I guess customers will vote by going elsewhere if this is indicative of what we get.

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That's what I did. The poor functionality of Sky Stream was enough for me to stop being a Sky customer after 18 years, It turned watchung TV into an infuriating experience, 

I'm so pleased to be rid of it TBH. The alternative TV streaming service we now use is so much more polished and reliable. 

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What service is that please?