I am happy to get Sky but I only want to pay for the Sports channels inc Sky Sports News

[Cuff]

I have recently left Sky, due to the fact I dont watch much TV other than Sport and Sky Sports News.

So I asked to pay just for that, of course Sir I was told..   that will be £22 

Perfect, so your total bill will be £50 a month for the basic package and Sports added to it

I dont want the basic package I want football and Darts only, I dont watch TV since the world when woke..  Just want footy and other sports and sports news.

But...  I cant have that.   I dont mind payiong £22 a month for the Premier League  I am not paying £50 a month for all the other [Removed] you are giving me.  Most of the decent channels are free.

Moderator notes: removed foul langauge

[Mark39]

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@Cuff wrote:

But...  I cant have that.   I dont mind payiong £22 a month for the Premier League  I am not paying £50 a month for all the other **bleep** you are giving me.  Most of the decent channels are free.

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That's right. Any Sky subscription requires the basic package. You could take a look at Sky's sister company Now TV.

[Marlu-Nyu]

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@Cuff wrote:

I have recently left Sky, due to the fact I dont watch much TV other than Sport and Sky Sports News.

So I asked to pay just for that, of course Sir I was told..   that will be £22 

Perfect, so your total bill will be £50 a month for the basic package and Sports added to it

I dont want the basic package I want football and Darts only, I dont watch TV since the world when woke..  Just want footy and other sports and sports news.

But...  I cant have that.   I dont mind payiong £22 a month for the Premier League  I am not paying £50 a month for all the other **bleep** you are giving me.  Most of the decent channels are free.

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Totally get where you're coming from — it's frustrating when you're willing to pay for exactly what you want, only to be told you need to fork out for extras you don't use or value. Sadly, Sky bundles are still very much based on the old model — you can't get Sky Sports standalone without the base pack, which bumps the cost up unnecessarily for people like yourself who just want the footy and maybe Sky Sports News.

You might want to look into streaming alternatives like the NOW Sports Membership, which gives you all 11 Sky Sports channels without needing a base package. It's still not perfect — £34.99/month in the UK or €33.99/month in Ireland — but it's more flexible and can be paused or cancelled monthly. Not ideal, but better than paying for a load of stuff you don't watch.

Would be great if they offered proper à la carte options, especially when so much content is either free or available via cheaper platforms these days.

[Marlu-Nyu]

Isn't it time Sky rethinks the requirement to have an Entertainment or Ultimate TV pack just to access certain content like Sky Sports or Cinema? With so many people only watching specific genres - sport, movies, kids, whatever - it feels outdated to force a base pack onto everyone, especially when much of that "base" content is either free-to-air or unused.

Wouldn't it make more sense to offer true standalone packages? Want Sky Sports only? Pay for that. Just want Sky Cinema? Subscribe to that and nothing else. A proper à la carte model.

With the likes of NOW already doing this (albeit at a slightly higher cost), and with streaming becoming more tailored and flexible, is the traditional bundle model starting to look a bit 2005?

Curious what others think - would you stay with Sky or come back if standalone options were introduced?

[Cuff]

I don't want to stream if. I want you to watch it on my tv. 

I've only watch YouTube which I pay for so no adverts 

Shame as I've had Sky since the late 89s when my mum got it. Then when I moved out and bought my own house o got it I even paid 200 to buy. Sky plus box back in the day before you gave them for free. Yet I havd left you as you can't give me what I want 

if I wanted to stream football I'd do what friends do. Ie illegally stream if. But I don't mind paying fir if. I want to pay for it. I just don't want to pay for stuff I don't watch  ie Sky Atlantic sky one etc 

[MarkGoldsmith]

I'd imagine if the base package didn't exist to help subsidise the cost of the add-on packages like sports and cinema those packages would be substantially more expensive than they are now.

[Cuff]

I disagree I think most people are like me, I think people join sky for the football and have to pay for Sky one etc   they dont want that.    If I am doing it online I might as well just join a channel from America or the like and then Ill be able to watch all games for cheaper

[TimmyBGood]

@Cuff 

Probably best not to announce such intentions in a forum owned by the product rights holder....

[Cuff]

I'm trying to help them 

if I can have just the sports package and news channels. (Sky sports news) I'd snap their hand off

ill go to the pub or my mates to watch the really big games 

shame 

but thanks 

[TimmyBGood]

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@Cuff wrote:

if I can have just the sports package and news channels. (Sky sports news) I'd snap their hand off

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Unfortunately that's never been an option on Sky-branded services in the 36 years they've been running.  It is available through NowTV (also a Sky company) but with the reduced functionality of that platform.

[Noz2k]

Completely understand this take. I'd 100% only get Sky Sports if that was an option.

Have never used Now TV, anyone know if you can watch content delayed or not live, like you would be able to on Sky if you recorded a game?

[BenJoBanjo]

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@Noz2k wrote:

Completely understand this take. I'd 100% only get Sky Sports if that was an option.

Have never used Now TV, anyone know if you can watch content delayed or not live, like you would be able to on Sky if you recorded a game?

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All NOW live channels have a restart feature so you can skip back to the start of the live streamed programmed whilst it's still going on. 

With sports you may not get the whole match available on demand later though. There is no 'cloud recording' which you get on Sky Stream.  

[Cuff]

Yes I'd come back if I could pay for channels I want only 

I like the box the set up the ease of use

sy the moment I don't even have freebies I just watch YouTube which I pay for so no adverts and I can download and watch offline