Cheaper ways to watch Sky TV?

smr · 4 Jan 2017 at 13:40

Hi all,

At the moment my sky bill is horrendously high and I want to find ways of cutting it down. It's about £140 a month which includes sky talk / fibre / line rental / and TV.

I want to watch Sky F1 in HD though, and I watch football as well quite a bit so is there any way of getting these still but by paying far less?

MikeTheNative · 4 Jan 2017 at 13:42

You need to cancel and get items back when they are on offer. For example I got sky sports for £10 for three months and cancelled when it went full price. Then a couple of weeks later they had it on offer again for half price for 12 months. (About £13 odd I think)

Kol · 4 Jan 2017 at 13:43

How far into your Sky contract are you? If more than 12-months then cancel and you'll most likely at the very least within your my.sky.com account have a 50% off for Sky TV.

You could sign up in your partners name or the only other legit ways of getting Sky F1 are through nowTV or Virgin.

Columbo · 4 Jan 2017 at 13:47

smr said:
Hi all,

At the moment my sky bill is horrendously high and I want to find ways of cutting it down. It's about £140 a month which includes sky talk / fibre / line rental / and TV.

I want to watch Sky F1 in HD though, and I watch football as well quite a bit so is there any way of getting these still but by paying far less?

Cancel TV and be prepared to to let it terminate, I did this and immediately got a 60% off all TV packages for 12 months + £100 account credit.

Move your internet to another provider so all your eggs are not in one basket as such and look for deals elsewhere, there is no reason to have you internet with them as existing customer deals simply are not that good. I understand there is a convenience factor but if cost is the primary concern then it doesn't matter.

Doing this I have a 200mb line with Virgin for £31 and full TV package with Sky for £30 p/m.

smr · 4 Jan 2017 at 13:50

Columbo said:
Cancel TV and be prepared to to let it terminate, I did this and immediately got a 60% off all TV packages for 12 months + £100 account credit.

Move your internet to another provider so all your eggs are not in one basket as such and look for deals elsewhere, there is no reason to have you internet with them as existing customer deals simply are not that good. I understand there is a convenience factor but if cost is the primary concern then it doesn't matter.

Doing this I have a 200mb line with Virgin for £31 and full TV package with Sky for £30 p/m.

Cancel it how, by phoning them up? What if they don't offer me the same deal with the 60 percent off thing?

Kanpai · 4 Jan 2017 at 13:51

smr said:
Cancel it how, by phoning them up? What if they don't offer me the same deal with the 60 percent off thing?

Basically they will give you a cut off date, however after your initial call they will 99% likely send you a 50-60% offer to stay with them.

If they don't (which is very unlikely), then you can always cancel your cancellation request.

smr · 4 Jan 2017 at 13:52

Sky Go Extra - including discounts FREE
Sky Multiscreen £12.00
Variety with Sports HD £71.50
Sky Fibre Unlimited £20.00
Sky Talk Line Rental £17.40
Voicemail Plus £2.50
Sky Talk Anytime Extra £8.00

That's what I am paying now, it's just getting ridiculously expensive but the quandary is that I hate watching sports that aren't in HD! I remember when line rental used to be what, 12 quid... it's getting absurd!

El1te said:
Basically they will give you a cut off date, however after your initial call they will 99% likely send you a 50-60% offer to stay with them.

If they don't (which is very unlikely), then you can always cancel your cancellation request.

ah ok so it's win win in that sense...

Daaaavvveee · 4 Jan 2017 at 13:53

I have always had 60% off and normally get 50-100£ credit every year.

I now have the full Sky Q package, with the 2nd box for £44 a month.

smr · 4 Jan 2017 at 13:54

but if you keep cancelling don't they catch on ?

I think I may be in contract still until Feb - I'm sure the woman I spoke to talked me into one when I got multiroom around that time last year.

Beer_MonsterUK · 4 Jan 2017 at 13:56

just don't accept the 25% they offer you on the phone. 99% chance you'll get 50 - 60% off before your cancellation date.

Oh why do they make us dance though?

smr · 4 Jan 2017 at 14:01

do i threaten to cancel whole package or just tv?

Kol · 4 Jan 2017 at 14:03

Or just do it online, login to my.sky.com and start live chat. Say what would make you stay, if not then give them your 31 days' notice. Don't be afraid to walk away or be without TV for a few days if you need to, but that rarely happens.

As others have said, move your broadband elsewhere and go through TopCashBack.

tom_e · 4 Jan 2017 at 14:04

You're overthinking this, worst comes to worst it'll all be cancelled and you'll sign up on a new contract and still probably save some money.

Just call them and say you want to cancel the lot as it's getting too expensive and see what they offer.

smr · 4 Jan 2017 at 14:05

tom_e said:
You're overthinking this, worst comes to worst it'll all be cancelled and you'll sign up on a new contract and still probably save some money.

Just call them and say you want to cancel the lot as it's getting too expensive and see what they offer.

i rely on my phone number for my business though so i can't risk them cancelling it all, just incase they don't offer me the 50-60 percent and i hard ball them.

Dsteviedee · 4 Jan 2017 at 14:23

I do this every year and have at least 50% off TV.
This year I have 50% off TV and Fibre.

smr · 4 Jan 2017 at 14:24

on phone at the mo... offered me 40 percent off. declined it... then said i need to pay £19 as a cancellation charge as my contract runs until feb - surely if i pay that there's no way they'd come back and offer me the 50-60 percent ? quick answer plz!

tom_e · 4 Jan 2017 at 14:25

Wait until you're out of contract and phone back.

smr · 4 Jan 2017 at 14:26

tom_e said:
Wait until you're out of contract and phone back.

ok. thanks. oh he's just got me on hold and speaking to his manager to see if they can waive the cancellation fee - if he can then I carry on as before?

oh ok he actually can't cancel my package today contrary to what he thought so i will have to wait until 24th feb and ring back then.

picnic · 4 Jan 2017 at 14:29

Edit - ignore me just repeating what everyone else said

Columbo · 4 Jan 2017 at 15:12

smr said:
oh ok he actually can't cancel my package today contrary to what he thought so i will have to wait until 24th feb and ring back then.

Thats fine, when Feb comes cancel on the TV and wait for the offer to come in if it doesn't let it terminate and sign up in your partner / wifes name with a new customer deal.
Then move you fibre and phone line elsewhere, all you need to do is instruct you new provider and everything else is done for you, there is no loss of service and you keep the same number.

Sky rely on customers such as yourself who once they provide you with the TV, Phone & Internet are wary of shopping around and the perceived hassle that comes with it. The truth is that there is no hassle at all and often far better deals are to be had elsewhere.