Sky Price increases

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Reply # 1304934 14-May-2015 09:51

dafman: The average Sky customer pays around $130 per month.

For $30 per month, you can pick up two streaming services (egNetflix and Lightbox) which would cover the films, TV series and docos on Sky. And you get the added benefit of watching programs of choice (1) when you want, and (2) uninterrupted, ie no more Sky promo ads every five minutes!

So the balance, $100 per month is basically the sport (rugby) premium - the value proposition question is this: Are you happy to pay $1,200 each year ($25 per week) for sport? If yes, stay with Sky, if not, jettison them.

Sky ARPU is something like $80, not $130

wasabi2k

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Reply # 1304936 14-May-2015 09:58

dafman: The average Sky customer pays around $130 per month.

For $30 per month, you can pick up two streaming services (egNetflix and Lightbox) which would cover the films, TV series and docos on Sky. And you get the added benefit of watching programs of choice (1) when you want, and (2) uninterrupted, ie no more Sky promo ads every five minutes!

So the balance, $100 per month is basically the sport (rugby) premium - the value proposition question is this: Are you happy to pay $1,200 each year ($25 per week) for sport? If yes, stay with Sky, if not, jettison them.

I would say Sport keeps a large number of subscribers on.

It is interesting with services like Netflix etc that you have to actively find something to watch. Analysis Paralysis is a real thing. If something doesn't grab me in 5-10 minutes I feel like there is probably something better to be watching.

I often just have Twitch running on the telly in the background as noise (unofficial Roku app) - when I can find a stream not laden with expletives (my 5 year old tells me to turn it off if there are "naughty words" so that's a plus).

A LOT of people like turning on the TV and turning off their brain.

Otagolad

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Reply # 1305149 14-May-2015 13:51

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So ... last week I had a guy around to the house to sort out our freeview because I was planning on cancelling SKY and by next week it'll all be sorted (basically the output in out main lounge is only connected to Sky and I wanted to be able to plug either a Sky decoder in or Freeview without having to get into the ceiling to change it).

This price increase announcement has only confirmed that I'm making the right choice. So what/how am I going to replace Sky? Here goes:

1. UFB 200/200.
2. Unblockus - have been using for a few years now.
3. ITV, BBC, Channel 4 etc. from the UK via Apple Apps and airplay to the aTV - have a dedicated iPad in the lounge for this.
4. Hulu - already subscribe to it.
5. Netflix - already subscribe to it.
6. An official service in another country (which shall remain nameless) which has the official rights in that country for all the rugby (union and league from NZ, Aus, SA), football and cricket. this cost approx $25 per month (compare that with SKY's Fan Pass, which for super rugby alone was $300) and I use an ipad app to airplay to my aTV - have trialled this for the last month and its rock solid. The other thing with this is that I'm back watching football that I had given up on when PLP got the rights.
7. MLB - have subscribed to this for the last few years.
8. NFL Gamepass - again have subscribed for the last few years.
9. Freeview to my Sony Smart TV which has USB recording features for the channels so that replaces the MySKYHDi+ box - will see how this goes and if not great will buy a Freeview recorder box.
10. aTV's and Roku boxes to stream local and external content.
11. Maybe subscribe to HBO Now, which I've had the free trial of for the last month, although not convinced of the value - will be interesting to see what Apple do with TV at the WWDC event kicking off on 8 June - would be great if there are apps that you can download and therefore BBC, iTV etc. will not need to be airplayed anymore.
12. Thinking about SlingTV but again will wait to see Apple's offering and may not actually need it.

One thing I've notice over the last year or so is that my young kids never watch local TV and whenever they see adverts during sports they ask what they are - this is awesome as it removes all the junk food and toy adverts that their mates are seeing.

I will be a little sad to have SKY gone from an ease of use with the sport, however saving $70 to $100 a month from what I'm currently paying is well worth any hassle and I am also still paying content producers for the content that SKY sees as valuable and charges me for - e.g. rugby, cricket, ESPN (main sports I watch on that are NFL and MLB) etc.

Once I've got everything sorted and running properly I'll give an update on how it's going.

cyberhub

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Reply # 1305151 14-May-2015 13:53

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l43a2: its that time again folks Sky Prices are going up :P

it seems only Sky Sport and Basic packages are affected

Is it just me or is the sky business model going to go the way of the dinosaurs?

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trig42

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Reply # 1305156 14-May-2015 13:59

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cyberhub:
l43a2: its that time again folks Sky Prices are going up :P

it seems only Sky Sport and Basic packages are affected

Is it just me or is the sky business model going to go the way of the dinosaurs?

I think so, and I see in the Herald, they lost 8707 subscribers in the first 6 months of the year (must be FY).

cyberhub

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Reply # 1305165 14-May-2015 14:09

trig42:
cyberhub:
l43a2: its that time again folks Sky Prices are going up :P

it seems only Sky Sport and Basic packages are affected

Is it just me or is the sky business model going to go the way of the dinosaurs?

I think so, and I see in the Herald, they lost 8707 subscribers in the first 6 months of the year (must be FY).

Fixed price on demand streaming is where it is at. I think a premium for new releases would be fine.

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jim69

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Reply # 1305268 14-May-2015 16:19

I just cancelled Movies today, leaving just basic + sport. Interestingly the rep didnt bat an eyelid, I expected a bit of questioning at least but no, and it only took 30 seconds to do it, so I can recommend the procedure :-\

Even though this means I'm effectively paying $77/m for sports I still see some value over PPV internet : simplicity & variety. Yes I could certainly chase an NFL or MLB or a Golf pass individually but with rare exceptions (rugby world cup, golf majors, say) my viewing is casual, not sought after, and such specific passes aren't really value if you don't actually watch all the specific content you've bought access too. Plus I'd never seek out women's world ping pong champs and the like if left to my own baked in preferences :-)
I'm not saying these are valid replacements for lost rights to "real" sports but hey its something different.

For casual streaming where you're not that worried about pixel count you can check out cricfree.tv, lots of channels, just be aware most are ad funded so on some of the channels you have to spend some energy blocking them to get to the program.

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Reply # 1305276 14-May-2015 16:35

jim69: I just cancelled Movies today, leaving just basic + sport. Interestingly the rep didnt bat an eyelid, I expected a bit of questioning at least but no, and it only took 30 seconds to do it, so I can recommend the procedure ...

I got the same response when I cancelled (cable) Sky outright two months ago - all sorted in minutes, no questions asked (except for identification), didn't hurt a bit

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michael001

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Reply # 1305281 14-May-2015 16:44

cyberhub:
l43a2: its that time again folks Sky Prices are going up :P

it seems only Sky Sport and Basic packages are affected

Is it just me or is the sky business model going to go the way of the dinosaurs?

Don't need a crystal ball to see where this story ends - look at Video EZY, Yellow Pages and the pocket watch.

Sky does have a couple years compared to a country such as Finland though, in my experience kiwi's are generally lazy and many others are mull rugby-couchers, so it'll take more time before Sky ends up like the three examples above.

Unsubscribed from Sky in 2003 when I realised I hadn't watched a single show in a year.

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Reply # 1305283 14-May-2015 16:46

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michael001: ... Unsubscribed from Sky in 2003 when I realised I hadn't watched a single show in a year.

That was an expensive show

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tdgeek

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Reply # 1305318 14-May-2015 17:22

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michael001: ... Unsubscribed from Sky in 2003 when I realised I hadn't watched a single show in a year.

That was an expensive show

Its actually an infinitely expensive show Dollars divided by zero

JimmyH

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Reply # 1305363 14-May-2015 18:56

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Hiamie:

I am totally fed up with sky breaking programmes unnecessary just to advertise upcoming SKY programmes. Totally unnecessary on channels like VIBE and BOX. I recognise that some channels may be relayed from Australia and already have gaps into which SKY can fill with ads, but not on channels that are not relayed from other countries in real time.

Combined with the lack of HD - especially on the documentary channels, I too have already discussed with my wife the option to abandon SKY altogether. For me, I am happy with the price I pay, I just HATE HATE HATE the ads and lack of HD.

Can't see myself being a subscriber much longer.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I have Rialto and SoHo. Happy with the programming, and not too unhappy with the price. But much of the otherwise good programming is essentially unwatchable due the the saturation bombing of endless incessant promos. So, at the end of the current season of GoT, I am probably going to give it the old heave-ho.

It's kind of ironic that they are going to lose a subscription that has been unbroken since 1996 precisely *because* they have ruined the service offering by constantly interrupting the service to bombard me with jarring and irritating promos about how good a service offering it is.

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Reply # 1305372 14-May-2015 19:12

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Hiamie: ... I am totally fed up with sky breaking programmes unnecessary just to advertise upcoming SKY programmes. ...

+1

Sky are in self-destruct mode.

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Wade

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Reply # 1305393 14-May-2015 19:38

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I'd like to thank Sky, this price increase is welcomed by me, since Netflix has been around I have been trying to convince the wife that we no longer need sky, I have been met by a fair bit of resistance, she likes her MTV and crime channels and I can't easily replace that via Netflix

Well, where i had failed over the last couple of months, Sky in all their infinite wisdom have managed to achieve the near impossible, it may be baby steps but tonight she has cancelled all add-on channels so our bill has halved and she is 90% there to cancelling Sky completely, all over a $1.15/mth increase!!!

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Reply # 1305457 14-May-2015 20:39

Wade: ...Well, where i had failed over the last couple of months, Sky in all their infinite wisdom have managed to achieve the near impossible, it may be baby steps but tonight she has cancelled all add-on channels so our bill has halved and she is 90% there to cancelling Sky completely, all over a $1.15/mth increase!!!

Now that's what i call a result

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