Back in the early 2000’s I remember my Sky Plus and my Sky HD boxes as exciting bits of kit as Sky leaded with advances in TV technology. These satellite boxes were so much better than the earlier Sky boxes of the 90’s which were limited in functionality. At the time, a British company that took technology seriously and introduced many brand new TV products into the UK, and often before any other country. Our TV technology was ahead of the game with red buttons, additional news streams, HD, 3D, 4K, HDR, Sky Go and many other products. For cutting edge technology, you of course expected to pay a premium.
While still an expensive product, has Sky lost it ability to innovate and drive new technologies to market? And more importantly, is Sky still worth the premium cost these days? It feels as if the Comcast takeover has not been good for Sky users in the UK.
My current kit is the Sky Q system which appears to be no longer actively marketed on the Sky website. Sky now pushing Sky Glass (Sky in a TV) and Sky Steam (TV puck). A TV software platform that runs apps and allows streaming of TV channels. A scaled down version of Sky Q with the ability to stream channels over broadband instead of satellite usage and no ability to record locally.
In 2020 when I first had Sky Q installed, it was still their flag ship product which had launched around 2016. In truth, many still consider it a better product than the two new streaming products despite its age. But now with Sky threatening job cuts and rumours that satellite TV will be phased out, it does appear that Sky Q may have a limited life remaining.
Many Sky Q users on forums also believe that moving from Sky Q to Sky Glass/Stream is a downgrade as you have to use a playlist instead of local record. Not really an incentive to move to a stream product and likely the reason why these new products are cheaper. Now personally, I do not have an issue with streaming TV channels and using apps via their software. I have a pretty good fibre broadband with Sky and use the gigabyte package, so know my kit could cope. But, I am not sure about the lack of ability to record. In theory, I have most apps on my smart TV that I can use without Sky software or could even use Freesat again in future. Sky studios original programming is not that great anymore and the platform tends to rely on perks to keep customers. They know that Sky cinema is weak these days, so give away cinema tickets and Paramount plus memberships to sell it. Sky news is good though.
While a few apps (Netflix, Paramount Plus and Discovery) are covered within the Sky subscription, other apps you have to pay for on top of your Sky high subscription (Disney Plus and Amazon Prime for starters).
When my Sky Q box was first installed, it was a pretty good and fairly reliable product. Sky invested in the software and regular software updates occurred. I waited for Sky Q to support Netflix, I didn’t see the point in having a box that could not support this app. After all, it’s all about convenience when you pay a premium.
Currently, I also have Sky Mobile, Sky Broadband and Sky TV. Therefore, I pay a lot of money to Sky. This year, my current TV contract runs out. I am seriously considering either leaving the TV subscription or downgrading most of the packages and using a Sky Steam for TV without any Sky Cinema etc. It is all just all getting too expensive. I also do not feel that they offer best value anymore. I would like to see lower competitive pricing and better offers/packages for existing customers.
Sky TV subscriptions have lost many channels and programs to streaming apps over the last 3 to 4 years. When Sky lose channels and exclusives, they never reduce costs to the consumer. We are then foolishly paying for apps and very little additional new obvious replacement features. Why Sky have not introduced packages that offer all inclusive access to these apps is beyond me. It would make sense if achievable and especially if offered at a competitive price. Therefore, I am not convinced that switching to a Sky Stream product is actually worth it despite the product being currently a little cheaper than Sky Q. You still then have many other subscriptions to still pay for.
Like all companies nowadays, Sky put up their prices regularly. The issue I have with Sky is that everything is in their favour. When in contract, you have to still expect a price rise. But if the retail price of a product goes down, they will not reduce your price automatically. For instance, I had a 18 month contract for Sky 1 Gigafast broadband with a £6 a month discount. However, for the last 6 to 9 months while in contract, the product price dropped and new customers are quoted prices that are about £10 less than what I am currently paying (and that is before any additional discounts to attract new customers). And this is where they let themselves down and show themselves to be quite greedy. Their website will allow upgrades but never downgrades. If you want to downgrade or wish to reduce your package, they will make it as difficult as possible. They will even try charging admin fees for changes when I last called them.
Last year when I was out of contract for Sky Cinema, I phoned to extend the contract to gain a new discount. Even though they are giving a discount, you are also committing to extending the contract by another 18 months in return. And this is where it gets silly as when you are out of contract, you can of course cancel. They wanted to charge me an admin fee of £15 to extend the contract. Sky effectively wanting me to pay them more to extend my contract. I declined and stopped paying. I knew full well that they would get back in touch with an offer which then cost them more in the long run. The offer being Sky Cinema and Paramount plus for £6 a month for 6 months and then about £12 a month for the remaining 12 months of the contract.
The bizarre practice to attempt to squeeze an extra £15 as an admin fee meant that they ended up placing me on lower contract pricing to get me back. I don’t mind as that was in my favour but a crazy business practice and I did start to lose faith in Sky at this point. Hopefully Sky will address the admin fee as it does upset a lot of customers. While I can understand it in some circumstances, they appear to have a cavalier attitude nowadays with when and how they will apply the charge when you speak to a call centre.
Establishing that while I like the reliability of their Gigafast broadband, it is becoming blatantly obvious that Sky Q is being neglected. The amount of problems that are becoming quite regular includes constant missing programmes on Sky Q e.g. Mandy episode 1 of series 3 was missing. I then watched on the BBC iPlayer – so what am I paying Sky for exactly as I watched all of Mandy series 3 on the BBC iPlayer as a result. Failed downloads is also becoming an increased issue with the Sky Q system, not broadband related, just shows not available yet to download on the platform though advertised as available.
While the Sky Go app is generally reliable and I like the ability to select shows to record, their My Sky app is becoming terrible. Many times reporting downtime and broken links within the app, and often links carrying out the wrong function. Do they ever quality test? An example is my broadband contract is due for renewal. They advertise a link to find a new deal but it doesn’t work. Rather than report back an available new price for extending the contract, the app checks the broadband services available for you to use. I then get a message advising I am already on the fastest broadband service. That is not what I wanted to achieve and again, a good example of Sky only allowing changes in their favour. I am sure that they would be happy for me to continue paying the higher price than what they will currently offer.
If you do attempt to give feedback and complain, Sky have lost the personal touch. I just received template responses when I contacted last year. Not the service you expect from a premium service offering. Responses were also not addressing the issues and you get passed from one department to another. The issue never being resolved. The Sky of years back would resolve your issues.
These recent experiences therefore have me questioning – what am I paying for? Hence I will be considering FreeSat or just using my Samsung tv’s smart apps as and when the Sky TV contract ends. It goes without saying that it would be a lot cheaper. With Sky Q sidelined and no groundbreaking new features added in recent years, it just doesn’t make sense anymore to keep the service.
This brings me to my last point and I know it divided opinions on some Sky forums. For a premium product, I never understood why we waited so long for the ITVX app appearing a few months after it launched on other platforms. Yes, it is a free app but for a premium product, it was not good enough that Sky Steam had it months before Sky Q. Some customers took the approach that it was out of Sky’s control but I am not convinced. With all the money we pay Sky, I am sure they could or should have worked out something with ITV. If customers are paying for their Sky platform, why should you have to use another product like a smart TV to access. It nicely highlights, what are we paying for if the platform does not meet customers needs fully? It was also one of the first examples of Sky offering apps and services to their latest streaming tech while neglecting Sky Q customers. The same happened with the My4 app and likely the same happening with the My5 app.
Sky will have to offer an amazing deal currently to convince me to stay on their tv package as the cost is just not worth what you get any more. Thankfully their broadband (apart price point) and Sky mobile offering are much better. Maybe at some point I will write about Sky Mobile and why it works for me. Just a shame that the tv offering is no longer appealing.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
