Sky sports plus, rugby league .

[bonniescotland27]

What a load of crap. I received this advertisement email from Sky. Shocking and lying.

From: Sky Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2024 at 17:04 Subject: Ray, watch every Men's Super League match! 🏉🙌 Sky Sports +: Watch every match from the men's Super League at no extra cost

Hello Ray, Sky Sports just got even better. We’re bringing you over 50% more sport this year. Introducing Sky Sports+.

It comes with brand new live streams and a dedicated channel, all included in your Sky Sports subscription. So you can watch every match from the men’s Super League and much more. GET STUCK INTO THE ACTION NOW Better still, you can get started in seconds.

To watch on your TV, say ‘Sky Sports+’ into your TV remote to go to the dedicated channel, or click on the Sky Sports app in the app rail. Or download and log in to the Sky Sports mobile app to watch on the go.

Complete order Sky Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Unsubscribe | Contact us | My Account You've agreed to receive marketing from Sky. This marketing message highlights more of what Sky has to offer that may interest you. Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored. View email in browser 50% More Sports on Sky Sports: Based on an additional 10,031 hours of sport from January to December 2024, compared to 19,416 hours on Sky Sports from January to December 2023. Sky Sports+: Included with a complete Sky Sports subscription at no extra cost. Every Men’s Super League match: Based on all 167 Men’s Super League games. Information correct as of 27 July May 2024. © 2024 Sky UK Ltd. Sky UK Ltd (company no. 02906991) has its registered office at Grant Way, Isleworth, Middlesex.  Sky Zero internetmatters.org

[Deewix]

Looks like it's a standard response, I got word for word the same reply! Think it's safe to say they pre-empted the negativity and prepared a standard response for all their 'valued' customers! 

[Leo]

Almost word for word as my sky email,

I'm not talking about "sports" coverage ,football, NRL etc,  I'm talking about Superleague coverage or more precisely the lack of it, all the  recorded games I had on Arena with the "keep" button, gone without warning, Sky are taking the mickey, obviously thinking we'll have forgotten all about it in a couple of weeks.

[Panmat]

More salt in the wound.... you can watch/playlist more women's NRL than super league, they are all on linear channels!

[clariongrade]

This spells the end of Sky coverage of Rugby League.

I have not see the viewing figures for the matches on SS+, but the dvertisers will have.

Without a guaranteed audience advertisers will not pay to show their adverts, removing a funding stream from Rugby League coverage, and making it not profitable to show.

[David51157]

I also phoned Sky as my internet, which is with Sky, continually buffered on Sky Sports+, missed the start of the game, it's not good enough. 

[stevecase51]

For those of you contemplating leaving Sky and/or subscribing to Super League+, I sent the following email to Super League +:-

I, like many other rugby league fans am considering abandoning Sky, and using Super League+ to watch the games. I have a number of specific questions that I'd be grateful if you would answer. I realise the answer to some of them can probably be found on your website, but having been told by Sky that I would be getting more games for no extra cost, and having discovered that in reality I was able to view less games for more money, I want to make absolutely certain that I understand things correctly before taking out a Super League+ subscription (probably next season).

1. Will I be able to watch the games by simply accessing the Super League + website via the browser on my Windows laptop or smart TV?
2. If I pay the annual subscription of £129.99, will I be able to watch every single mens Super League game live?
3. Will I be able to pause live games and, if so, is there a time-limit on the pause? In particular will I lose some of the match if the pause takes me beyond the end of the live stream.
4. If I pay the annual subscription of £129.99, will I be able to watch every single full Super League game on demand after the event for no extra cost?
5. How soon after the live game will the on-demand version become available?
6. For roughly how long will these on-demand games remain available to watch?

Thanking you in anticipation

I received a reply within a couole of hours which I'll post shortly. 

[stevecase51]

Here is the reply I received from Super League +

Thank you for contacting SuperLeague+ Support

1. SuperLeague+ is a digital subscription service which gives fans access to a whole host of 2024 live Betfred Super League matches, as well as on-demand matches, highlights and other Rugby League content. SuperLeague+ can be accessed on the Web (mobile, laptop, tablet only), Mobile Web, iOS, Android, Chromecast, Apple TV, Android TV and Airplay. Smart TV browser is not supported.
2. SuperLeague+ will stream all 167 matches from the 2024 season live for international audiences, In the UK and the Republic of Ireland, fans will be able to watch 106 Betfred Super League games live on the service throughout the 2024 season, with the remaining 61 games to be made available delayed and on-demand. Restricted live games will be subject to a holdback period. We will also host a variety of on-demand video content such as Betfred Super League match highlights, ‘Out of Your League’ podcast shows, ‘Glen’s Super League Stories’ features, and much more.
3. You can pause and play a live game, however, once the game is over, the live stream is cut off and you will lose access to the live stream
4. (Read point no. 2)
5. Due to licensing restrictions, on-demand replays for Sky Sports picks will not be available on our service in the UK, Ireland and Canada until after 10pm GMT on the Monday following the live broadcasts. For further details on the fixtures affected please see the following link: (link to their match centre removed) A subscription or pay-per-view license will be required to access live or on-demand replays.
6. (Read point no. 5)

Hope all the questions have been answered. Please let us know if you would like further information or assistance.

[stevecase51]

I then asked them about their answer to my Question 5:-

Thank you so much for your prompt reply, which is really appreciated. Could you just clarify one point: In your answer to my Question 5, you mentioned "Sky Sports picks." Does this term cover all Sky matches, or just certain special ones? In the FAQ's on your website, the answer to question15 (How soon after live broadcasts are live events available on demand?") states "Live matches will be available after the conclusion of a live stream" which leads me to believe the majority of on demand will be available soon after the live stream finishes. Is that correct? Or will I always have to wait until Monday night to watch an on-demand Super League game?

Again they replied quickly:-

Thank you for contacting SuperLeague+ Support.
"In the UK and the Republic of Ireland, fans will be able to watch 106 Betfred Super League games live on the service throughout the 2024 season, with the remaining 61 games to be made available delayed and on-demand."
The 61 games that are picked by Sky will be available on Monday at mentioned time.
Rest of the replays will be available soon after the live game is over.
Best regards,

I'm not sure why they say I can't access Super League + via a smart TV browser (as distinct from a Windows laptop browser). I may ask them nearer the time.

[stevecase51]

Further to my previous posts, I noticed on the Super League + website that none of the Magic Weekend games are showing as available to purchase. This suggests to me that you won't be able to watch them live, and will have to wait until Monday night for the replay.

[bonniescotland27]

I have just noticed that 5 Magic Weekends games are on normal Sky.  I have just set them up to record.

[Deewix]

I thought I'd seen on their link that all 6 were on normal channels. 

[Leo]

All 6 for magic weekend only.

[LWW1]

Regarding SKY's change of policy regarding the Rugby Super League coverage . I agree with my fellow rugby league followers in that the new coverage is a downgrade of what was promised pre saeson. SKY specifically stated that we would be able to watch all this season's games. That to me is a PROMISE and now that promise has been BROKEN! I have just spent three days trying to register a formal complaint which terminated in a 1hour and 39 minute phone call with a very nice chap in the SKY complaints resolution team. Unfortunately unlike other companies when they cannot resolve the complaint they have no one to escalate it to! So our so called VIP status is valueless. My contract is up for renewal in December and SKY will expect me to show loyalty and commit to a new contract. Why should I show loyalty to SKY when SKY does not wish to listen to a legitimate complaint and then explain why they have clearly been disloyal to the Rugby League fraternity with their latest action. It would have been nice if someone acknowledged the error, perhaps offered an appology or even something radical like some minor compensation, but, the powers that be don't seem to care. Accordingly I have to take it or leave it! Perhaps as much as I love my Rugby I will have to cancel my subscription to make them understand how dissatisfied I am.

[clariongrade]

Does anyone have SuperLeage plus?

Would it provide the functions we have lost?