Man of Honour
What’s the one for a fiver? Interested in taking a look despite shortcomings you mention.
*** Sky TV Cancellation & Negotiation Thread ***
- Thread starter psd99
- Start date
Soldato
I've thrown in the towel with Sky after 15 years. One guy took a break midway through our web chat. I couldn't believe it.
The Sky Q hardware has been flakey for me. Always dropping off the wifi. The cost has always been a factor. Pay Per View is now across many platforms for boxing.
At the end of the day, the Sky box was a gateway into Netflix, YouTube and Disney, which can be done on a fire stick.
The Sky Q hardware has been flakey for me. Always dropping off the wifi. The cost has always been a factor. Pay Per View is now across many platforms for boxing.
At the end of the day, the Sky box was a gateway into Netflix, YouTube and Disney, which can be done on a fire stick.
TV Launcher by Adam Foot. It actually makes quite a good job of integrating live TV with streaming, iplayer etc. Quick demo video below
SKY TV's Worst Nightmare: Apple TV 4k's Dominance
In this video, we're taking a look at Sky TV's Worst Nightmare: Apple TV 4k's dominance.Apple TV 4k is a powerful device that lets you watch your favorite TV...
youtu.be
I think I know the answer, but has anyone with Sky Stream had any joy with retention when their initial contract was up?
My 18 months isn't up until May, but with seemingly an explosion of streaming services in the 18 months since I've got it, I find myself with:
Sky with Cinema Pack
Netflix (As part of Sky, with a minor upgrade to give extra screens)
Paramount (As part of Sky Cinema)
Apple TV (Free 6 Months through Sky)
And then on my own...
Disney+
Prime Video (Mainly because we make such significant use of Amazon Prime Deliveries)
I'm not getting great value, so I'll have a think if I can't get something.
My 18 months isn't up until May, but with seemingly an explosion of streaming services in the 18 months since I've got it, I find myself with:
Sky with Cinema Pack
Netflix (As part of Sky, with a minor upgrade to give extra screens)
Paramount (As part of Sky Cinema)
Apple TV (Free 6 Months through Sky)
And then on my own...
Disney+
Prime Video (Mainly because we make such significant use of Amazon Prime Deliveries)
I'm not getting great value, so I'll have a think if I can't get something.
Just renewed my Sky contract, had to also arrange a move. Was out of contract for a while as move was touch and go and wasn't sure what to do etc as got nowhere with the customer service teams in terms of renewal before
Had Multiple conversations and best they could do was £57 for Signature, Movies, kids and HD ( + £49 for one off moving from HD box to Sky Q and £20 Admin) and then for the "move" they wanted an engineer visit again with more charges - not sure why they couldn't do in one go, but they insisted on splitting new contract and move as it was different departments. They also offered me to keep my HD+ box for the same package but at £51 and one off charges for engineer visit at new property.
Got fed up and asked to cancel, managed to speak to cancellations eventually who agreed £35 for the package on Sky Q 1TB box, including move etc, had to pay the £20 admin fee though. (Initially they offered £48 but also wanted £99 one off for upgrade to Sky Q)
Personally would have cancelled but family insisted on Sky.
They also kept trying to push stream, but I'll have poor internet where I'm going so wouldn't work and didn't particularly want stream or skyglass , it was either Q or nothing
Questions for anyone who may know
Had Multiple conversations and best they could do was £57 for Signature, Movies, kids and HD ( + £49 for one off moving from HD box to Sky Q and £20 Admin) and then for the "move" they wanted an engineer visit again with more charges - not sure why they couldn't do in one go, but they insisted on splitting new contract and move as it was different departments. They also offered me to keep my HD+ box for the same package but at £51 and one off charges for engineer visit at new property.
Got fed up and asked to cancel, managed to speak to cancellations eventually who agreed £35 for the package on Sky Q 1TB box, including move etc, had to pay the £20 admin fee though. (Initially they offered £48 but also wanted £99 one off for upgrade to Sky Q)
Personally would have cancelled but family insisted on Sky.
They also kept trying to push stream, but I'll have poor internet where I'm going so wouldn't work and didn't particularly want stream or skyglass , it was either Q or nothing
Questions for anyone who may know
- What box do they give out now - is it the UHD box as standard ( looking to upgrade TV later on in year and may upgrade to UHD), but wasn't sure if I'd need to upgrade box again too (seems they charge for that) - conflicting info on the web about which box is provided and upgrading
- Assuming they do give the UHD box, is there much difference between HD and UHD on sky as I'm aware its not "proper" UHD, will the TV upscale anyway, so do I need to pay the additional for UHD ( cant believe they still charge for HD in todays world either, especially considering its not even full HD)
- Is the deal reasonable ? as have time to cancel if need be as in "cooling" off period
The standard box for new customers is the 1Tb UHD box but Sky are guilty of installing 1Tb non-UHD boxes, particularly with those customers upgrading from +HD and those not adding the UHD pack to their subscription from the start. If you decide to upgrade your TV and need a UHD capable box then Sky will charge you £99 for this. The box is still just loaned to you for the duration of your contract - you don't own it.
The main difference between HD & UHD is that much of the UHD content on Sky has HDR (Sky Cinema, Sky Originals, Sky Nature and some live Sports) whereas HD is always SDR. Sky use the HLG format of HDR which is seen as the poor man's HDR. It's not adaptive like HDR10+ or Dolby Vision, but can look very good on a decent 4K TV.
Whether or not you'll notice much of a difference depends on the quality and size of your TV and how close you sit to it.
£35pm for Signature, Movies, Kids & HD is OK. Pay whatever you feel it's worth.
When I tried to cancel I was offered 9 months half price to stay, which I did. I was therefore paying £22.50pm for Entertainment, Netflix Premium, UHD/Atmos and Ad-skipping on a 31day contract.
This was back in March last year. Once the 9 months was up there were no further offers to stay so I cancelled as I didn't think it was worth paying any more.
I now use an Apple TV 4K box with a NOW Entertainment subscription (£2.99pm + £1pm Boost), and have Netflix Premium for £10pm via my EE SIM perks. I've got Apple TV+ for free until November after activating the free 6 months from Sky and a further 5 months from Currys. I don't bother paying for Paramount+ as there are regular month long free trials (I've had several) which you can start and stop as necessary. I've also got a discounted annual Disney+ sub which runs until August and we pay full price for Amazon Prime so get Prime Video as part of that. I also have a few other subs to American streaming services via VPN so we're more than sorted for content.
It's a much better value and more reliable service than Sky Stream. I don't miss Sky at all.
Thanks for the info
TV upgrade wise, potentially looking at ideally 85" or larger, but minimum will be 75".
Probably looking at offerings from LG, Sony or Panasonic, and distance wise around 8-12ft, depending on where TV will be located
I'll also see when they install if they can provide a UHD box from the start
Last edited:
You'll definitely notice the difference between HD & UHD.
They are supposed to swap like for like but TBH, their stock control is woeful and they rarely have a clue which version of box a customer has.
If you don't mind losing your recordings and fancy trying a box swap (you might get lucky and get a UHD box) you can pretend your box has died and order a new one from here:
https://www.sky.com/help/articles/no-power-sky-q-box-v2
Click on the Replace your Sky Q box link and you can order a free replacement which will be delivered by courier. You need to swap your old box for the new one on the doorstep and reconnect the satellite & HDMI cables yourself, but it's very easy. Remember to remove your viewing card from the old box as you'll need to put it in the new one. Also make sure you hand over the power cable from the old box and make sure you get a new one - there are some Q boxes which use a different power supply.
Thanks its worth a go. Mrs Chabsy is a hoarder of recordings so it will be good to get a clean box.
@MissChief do you know how long the Sky/Netflix partnership has left on its current deal? I know they extended it in 2020 under "multi year" terms, but was wondering how long that deal actually is?
Associate
- Joined
- 10 Nov 2006
- Posts
- 1,313
Been with Sky for 20+ years. Just phoned up to negotiate our next deal. Currently we have SKY-Q, UHD, Mini-box upstairs, & pretty much everything. It keeps the wife and child happy 
My wife has just been on to them. Spoke to Melvin, and lets just say english was clearly not his first language (Or even his 2nd or 3rd). He was determined to sell her Sky Glass, despite her reluctance. He just would not listen.
I do not need or want a new TV. My Tv`s are both recent LG oleds.
Bizarrely, if she changed to Sky Glass, it would be over £40 per month cheaper, than if we kept the Sky Q equipment we already have. And we get Netflix free forever. How the hell does that work ???
Never considered cancelling before, but that time has maybe arrived.
@MissChief Is there a current push on Sky Glass ?? I simply have no interest in it.
My wife has just been on to them. Spoke to Melvin, and lets just say english was clearly not his first language (Or even his 2nd or 3rd). He was determined to sell her Sky Glass, despite her reluctance. He just would not listen.
I do not need or want a new TV. My Tv`s are both recent LG oleds.
Bizarrely, if she changed to Sky Glass, it would be over £40 per month cheaper, than if we kept the Sky Q equipment we already have. And we get Netflix free forever. How the hell does that work ???
Never considered cancelling before, but that time has maybe arrived.
@MissChief Is there a current push on Sky Glass ?? I simply have no interest in it.
There is absolutely a push on Sky Glass. Sky have warehouses full of them but they're old, over-priced technology. Glass was launched in September 2021 and has had no hardware improvements since then, yet the price has actually increased.Been with Sky for 20+ years. Just phoned up to negotiate our next deal. Currently we have SKY-Q, UHD, Mini-box upstairs, & pretty much everything. It keeps the wife and child happy
My wife has just been on to them. Spoke to Melvin, and lets just say english was clearly not his first language (Or even his 2nd or 3rd). He was determined to sell her Sky Glass, despite her reluctance. He just would not listen.
I do not need or want a new TV. My Tv`s are both recent LG oleds.
Bizarrely, if she changed to Sky Glass, it would be over £40 per month cheaper, than if we kept the Sky Q equipment we already have. And we get Netflix free forever. How the hell does that work ???
Never considered cancelling before, but that time has maybe arrived.
@MissChief Is there a current push on Sky Glass ?? I simply have no interest in it.
They are a budget TV in a shiny box with a premium price and Sky want rid of the current model stock before either killing it off completely or introducing a new version later this year.
Do not be tempted by the '£40pm cheaper' line - it's a completely different service from Sky Q and really isn't comparable. If you already have OLED TV's then you would be an absolute mug for swapping one for a Sky Glass. They are junk.
You would get Netflix Standard with ads 'free' for the duration of your streaming TV subscription, not for the rest of your life. If you want 4K Netflix you'd pay an extra £11pm. If you want to fast forward through ads on playlisted content you'd pay an extra £5pm. If you want UHD & Atmos it's an extra £6pm... there are all sorts of sneaky additional costs with Sky Glass and Stream.
If you really want to have Sky you could give Sky Stream a go - the Stream pucks are cheap and nasty too but can produce excellent picture quality. I tried one for a year but cancelled as it's just not reliable.
My advice - dump Sky. There are much better streaming options out there now.
Associate
- Joined
- 10 Nov 2006
- Posts
- 1,313
Yep, thinking the same. I love Sky Q, does everything we want. Would hate to lose it, but refuse to be held hostage. We are awaiting a call back.
Current deals end 1st March and due to go from £40 to £90+. Called and the bloke just admitted he wont be able to match my current win back deal, offered £70 but even he said he knew I wouldn't take it. I just cancelled and will wait for retentions to contact me. I won't miss sky tbh so they will have to match my current £40 otherwise i'll just leave again
Don't be surprised if they don't bother contacting you. If they do it'll be to push Stream or Glass. Their service just isn't worth it any more.
And this is where I ultimately think its going to end up going back to in some shape or form.
Last edited: