Big drop in Sky subscribers

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#1548709 9-May-2016 14:33

radomatic:

I quit Sky about 12 months ago in favour of streaming services. In fact, we don't watch broadcast TV of any kind now. Our UHF aerial got knocked over and we haven't bothered to fix it - net result being the TV does not in fact receive Freeview.

I just don't know that streaming services are 100% ready for primetime/mass market (yet). There's still a few too many steps in it - can you imagine someone's nana (your average nana, maybe not ours') setting up a Chromecast and starting a stream from her phone? Apple TV/10 foot apps make this a bit easier, but still things can go wrong, and not everyone has an app.

But I think we are close to that being a reality.

I agree it's not far away from being much more accessible. Just look at the changes over the last few years. Give it another five and I think it'll be a drastically improved scenario.

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MikeAqua

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#1548731 9-May-2016 15:18

We have Sky. Happy with it. The monthly cost isn't that high. If I'm honest I spend more buying coffees than on sky. I mainly have it for SoHo. My best mate has it for rugby.

Do we know each other's Sky-Go passwords? You might think that but I couldn't possibly comment ...

Mike

MileHighKiwi

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#1548786 9-May-2016 16:46

everyone loves to bag Sky but no one is forced to pay their exorbitant fees. I'm a subscriber on the $49 special and that's about the limit I'm prepared to pay, so I will be cancelling next month when the special expires. But credit where its due, their rugby coverage is exceptional, as is most sports, and that's what got me back after a 2 year break. I will happily pay up to $50 pm for a sports only service delivered via the MySky box but I can't justify $100 cost for basic, sports, decoder and HD ticket that my sub will jump to next month.

BigPipeNZ

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#1548790 9-May-2016 16:55

radomatic:

I quit Sky about 12 months ago in favour of streaming services. In fact, we don't watch broadcast TV of any kind now. Our UHF aerial got knocked over and we haven't bothered to fix it - net result being the TV does not in fact receive Freeview.

I just don't know that streaming services are 100% ready for primetime/mass market (yet). There's still a few too many steps in it - can you imagine someone's nana (your average nana, maybe not ours') setting up a Chromecast and starting a stream from her phone? Apple TV/10 foot apps make this a bit easier, but still things can go wrong, and not everyone has an app.

But I think we are close to that being a reality.

like with many things, most people assume it's a lot harder than it is so refuse to learn.

If people can drive a car (even badly!) then they can easily operate a smart TV and/or chromecast - it's just a matter of learning which buttons to press.

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tdgeek

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#1548799 9-May-2016 17:13

MileHighKiwi: everyone loves to bag Sky but no one is forced to pay their exorbitant fees. I'm a subscriber on the $49 special and that's about the limit I'm prepared to pay, so I will be cancelling next month when the special expires. But credit where its due, their rugby coverage is exceptional, as is most sports, and that's what got me back after a 2 year break. I will happily pay up to $50 pm for a sports only service delivered via the MySky box but I can't justify $100 cost for basic, sports, decoder and HD ticket that my sub will jump to next month.

They aren't exorbitant, well, maybe they are. But it costs, and sport I think is 60% of all rights payments. Their profit shows they aren't gouging.

If FanPass allows recording to the device its app is on, that would resolve your $50 limit, and I think it will in time. FP becomes a staple Sky product, after all, it is the main drawcard. I think the current ARPU is about $80 odd per subscriber. Profit at 150 M over 830000 subscribers is $15 per month per year er subscriber. Not any wiggle room there. If they dropped it $5 thats a third off the bottom line for a minuscule reduction. If a move to SVOD, maybe drop movies to PPV only saved reasonable money, drop brick and mortar and staff with a do everything app, there are options I feel.

richms

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#1548802 9-May-2016 17:16

BigPipeNZ:

like with many things, most people assume it's a lot harder than it is so refuse to learn.

If people can drive a car (even badly!) then they can easily operate a smart TV and/or chromecast - it's just a matter of learning which buttons to press.

People who have grown up in the single employer era where you could get a job and then stop learning seem incapable of handling change or learning new things. I have several older relatives that did that and they just cannot handle any change in technology.

Just the change of a TV to one where the remote was different (Because the freeview box on the old TV was too much for them) caused all sorts of problems.

Yet a whole lot of other oldies I know are absolutely fine with stuff like streaming. Those seem to be the ones that didnt end up working at a single place doing the same thing for 40+ years.

Richard rich.ms

ockel

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#1548805 9-May-2016 17:17

MileHighKiwi: everyone loves to bag Sky but no one is forced to pay their exorbitant fees. I'm a subscriber on the $49 special and that's about the limit I'm prepared to pay, so I will be cancelling next month when the special expires. But credit where its due, their rugby coverage is exceptional, as is most sports, and that's what got me back after a 2 year break. I will happily pay up to $50 pm for a sports only service delivered via the MySky box but I can't justify $100 cost for basic, sports, decoder and HD ticket that my sub will jump to next month.

Yep - and every ones perception of value is different. $50/mth to watch 4 games of rugby is value to some, $100/mth to watch 32 games of rugby league, 24 hours of Soho and 16 hours of general entertainment is value to others.

Just like sitting in the cheap seats at a game for $8 pp or the best seats at $26pp. Different value propositions for people. Or watching a movie at the standard cinema or in Gold Class. We all make our choices - but generally we dont bitch and moan when we choose not to buy it. We do choose to bitch and moan when we covet something but arent willing to pay for it.

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richms

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#1548807 9-May-2016 17:19

tdgeek:

If a move to SVOD, maybe drop movies to PPV only saved reasonable money, drop brick and mortar and staff with a do everything app, there are options I feel.

After seeing the crap that their staff at the drop off in mt wellington have to deal with from absolutly retarded customers who cannot understand a basic bill, I dont think there is any hope of taking those interactions online in an app, because they are the sort of people who would have no smart phone, no clue how to work it and to be honest probably cannot read.

That has to be the most awkward place to queue up to return equipment.

Richard rich.ms

old3eyes

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#1548810 9-May-2016 17:22

MikeAqua:

We have Sky. Happy with it. The monthly cost isn't that high. If I'm honest I spend more buying coffees than on sky. I mainly have it for SoHo. My best mate has it for rugby.

Do we know each other's Sky-Go passwords? You might think that but I couldn't possibly comment ...

You must have very expensive taste in coffee then..

Regards,

Old3eyes

Benoire

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#1548811 9-May-2016 17:24

BigPipeNZ:

radomatic:

I quit Sky about 12 months ago in favour of streaming services. In fact, we don't watch broadcast TV of any kind now. Our UHF aerial got knocked over and we haven't bothered to fix it - net result being the TV does not in fact receive Freeview.

I just don't know that streaming services are 100% ready for primetime/mass market (yet). There's still a few too many steps in it - can you imagine someone's nana (your average nana, maybe not ours') setting up a Chromecast and starting a stream from her phone? Apple TV/10 foot apps make this a bit easier, but still things can go wrong, and not everyone has an app.

But I think we are close to that being a reality.

like with many things, most people assume it's a lot harder than it is so refuse to learn.

If people can drive a car (even badly!) then they can easily operate a smart TV and/or chromecast - it's just a matter of learning which buttons to press.

I'd disagree, at the moment online services are not ready for mainstream use. Until we have a unified app that reminds when a new programme has been released for viewing, can have any provider added just by entering their details, the ability to access from multiple locations on one IP setup (IPv4 or /56 IPv6 etc.). I dislike the way that I can't have a single interface that shows me what's on and allows me to flick around; I have to leave and enter a new app... Mundane, especially after a long work day.

tdgeek

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#1548813 9-May-2016 17:27

old3eyes:

MikeAqua:

We have Sky. Happy with it. The monthly cost isn't that high. If I'm honest I spend more buying coffees than on sky. I mainly have it for SoHo. My best mate has it for rugby.

Do we know each other's Sky-Go passwords? You might think that but I couldn't possibly comment ...

You must have very expensive taste in coffee then..

$3 a day? $100 over 30 days. work days is $5. Its a bit like apps. We were always happy to pay $50 to $100 for good and useful piece of software. Now if an app costs $2-95, people baulk. Strange as. Bad comparison, I know!

tdgeek

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#1548816 9-May-2016 17:32

Benoire:

BigPipeNZ:

radomatic:

I quit Sky about 12 months ago in favour of streaming services. In fact, we don't watch broadcast TV of any kind now. Our UHF aerial got knocked over and we haven't bothered to fix it - net result being the TV does not in fact receive Freeview.

I just don't know that streaming services are 100% ready for primetime/mass market (yet). There's still a few too many steps in it - can you imagine someone's nana (your average nana, maybe not ours') setting up a Chromecast and starting a stream from her phone? Apple TV/10 foot apps make this a bit easier, but still things can go wrong, and not everyone has an app.

But I think we are close to that being a reality.

like with many things, most people assume it's a lot harder than it is so refuse to learn.

If people can drive a car (even badly!) then they can easily operate a smart TV and/or chromecast - it's just a matter of learning which buttons to press.

I'd disagree, at the moment online services are not ready for mainstream use. Until we have a unified app that reminds when a new programme has been released for viewing, can have any provider added just by entering their details, the ability to access from multiple locations on one IP setup (IPv4 or /56 IPv6 etc.). I dislike the way that I can't have a single interface that shows me what's on and allows me to flick around; I have to leave and enter a new app... Mundane, especially after a long work day.

I get that. If its two or three for four apps, I don't think thats an issue, its the find experience in each. scroll scroll scroll. Perhaps a large thumbnail, sortable by genre first then, date added, etc. Maybe a unified app would be difficult unless permissions granted. Then the provider wont have you stuck in his ecosystem, as much.They wont want that.

But good points.

richms

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#1548818 9-May-2016 17:37

netflix, hulu and vevo are quite happy to have the fire TV drive traffic into their app with the text and voice search on the boxes. Till we get someone like that here it will just be the pathetic mess of laggy slow apps on gutless hardware like the dish boxes and smart tv's.

Next best hope would be if one of the console makers was to make a decent push into media, but that is what microsoft claimed they were doing with the xbox one and it has been ignored by all, and they have ignored outside the US totally in any case.

Richard rich.ms

ockel

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#1548833 9-May-2016 18:17

old3eyes:

MikeAqua:

We have Sky. Happy with it. The monthly cost isn't that high. If I'm honest I spend more buying coffees than on sky. I mainly have it for SoHo. My best mate has it for rugby.

Do we know each other's Sky-Go passwords? You might think that but I couldn't possibly comment ...

You must have very expensive taste in coffee then..

You cant even buy a coffee from a service station for less than $3.50. And I know people who have 2 or 3 coffees a day. For what, 15 mins of taste sensation (and even then sometimes its not a good sensation). Coffee is an expensive habit.

Sixth Labour Government - "Vision without Execution is just Hallucination"

Yabanize

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#1548839 9-May-2016 18:30

A chromecast with a good app (like netflix) is pretty easy to teach older people to use

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