SKY Digital - Free to view going

uk_jih

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My sky digital free to view card is telling me that I will be losing some channels shortly and I should call a certain phone no.

I called the number and found out that ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 will all be coming off free to view shortly.

One of the options connected me to Sky and they told me that if I wanted to watch ITV / Channel 4 / Channel 5 through the Sky box, I would have to buy a sky subscription for £6.25 a month (Half the normal sky rate). Their justification was that I could watch these channels through my aerial.

So annoyed by their attitude, I hung up.
 
It's easy to assume just becuase we know about this FTV mess and it's been reported on the radio etc then everyone knows.
I wonder just how many FTV users and not forgetting license fee payers are finding out right now that they will no longer be able to watch "free" commercial UK telly on dsat.
It's about time the regulators got off their well padded arses and made a decision!
 
Along with everyone else I'm well cheesed off with the development. Where I live Freeview Reception is un-watchable and the thought of giving even more money to $ky really pains me. However, that's all I can do. So others in a similar situation to me may be interested to learn that after spending upwards of 30 minutes being in a queue and being cut off I finally got through to a sympathetic ear at sky. I have signed up for a basic package at £6.25 pcm for a minimum period of 12 months. This adds up to £75 which is about what I'd have paid for a Freeview box.

Hopefully the card will remain a FTV card when the subscription expires after 12 months.

DaveP
 
I don't consider any ears at sky to be sympathetic. I already have a full sky subsubscription and got told that I would have to pay £15 for each additional box and have all four my boxes connected to a telephone line. Outrageous for me £540 a year to watch anything other than BBC in any other room.
 
The £15 is for a Mirror Subscription, hence the requirement for connection to a 'phone line. If you can live with the basic package you can pay the £6.25 without connection to a phone line, assuming you already own the box.

DaveP
 
Originally posted by uk_jih
I don't consider any ears at sky to be sympathetic. I already have a full sky subsubscription and got told that I would have to pay £15 for each additional box and have all four my boxes connected to a telephone line. Outrageous for me £540 a year to watch anything other than BBC in any other room.



As DaveP says the £15 quoted is the mirror subscription, the "cheap" offer for current FTV viwers is I belive only avaliable when you ring 08702 430604 which is the number that popped up yesterday on my FTV box.
I didn't stay on the line long enough to hear the actual offers:)
 
The £6.25 offer is not available to existing sky subscribers - hence the £15 per box fee.
 
Originally posted by uk_jih
The £6.25 offer is not available to existing sky subscribers - hence the £15 per box fee.


You have a FTV smartcard issued to you by the BBC and are using it in a SKY digibox, you are getting the onscreen warning and have rung the phone number and been told you are not eligible for the offer?
 
Yes, that is correct. If you already have a Sky subscription, you are not eligible for the £6.25 offer.
 
Originally posted by uk_jih
Yes, that is correct. If you already have a Sky subscription, you are not eligible for the £6.25 offer.


Well that's just taking the p**s !
Just phoned SKY and talked to an Indian lady who really made my surname sound exotic :)
I can only have the £15 mirror subscription, makes you wonder why SKY are penalising customers who have a digibox from a previous install.
 
Originally posted by Starburst
You have a FTV smartcard issued to you by the BBC and are using it in a SKY digibox, you are getting the onscreen warning and have rung the phone number and been told you are not eligible for the offer?

I have a sky subscription card that ran out 2 years ago. Since then I've been using it as FTV card and now I'm also getting the message on my screen. So I don't know if I get the supscription offer for a year what will happen when that runs out :rolleyes: I'm not sure what to do now.

Does anyone know the date when the channles will come off forever?

marc
 
Originally posted by marcoeser
I have a sky subscription card that ran out 2 years ago. Since then I've been using it as FTV card and now I'm also getting the message on my screen. So I don't know if I get the supscription offer for a year what will happen when that runs out :rolleyes: I'm not sure what to do now.

Does anyone know the date when the channles will come off forever?

marc


Two choices, ring the number on the screen and see what sort of offer SKY are goign to make. Since you are not a current subscriber you should at the very least get the half priced package.
OR, you could ring SKY and re-subscribe for one month which means you will get one of the new smartcards. Then cancel after the minimum 1 month required, however SKY could ask for the card to be returned since it remains their property.
Take a look at this post in the DS forum, that may also provide an alternative route to getting a new card.
 
I think that really bad by sky to make you have to pay to get channels 3,4,5 but what can you do
 
Originally posted by ISHANTY
I think that really bad by sky to make you have to pay to get channels 3,4,5 but what can you do


I think everyone would agree with you (Well aprt from the owners of the companies involved) but at this time SKY are just exploiting the lack of regulatory action which quite frankly should have had a solution for this situation in place once the BBC announced it's move to FTA and the withdrawl of it's funding from the FTV service.

SKY have probably looked at cable companies who make money by forcing subscribers to have a subscription to get a digital STB to watch the digital versions of ITV1, CH4 and Five not to mention the BBC channels.
There are differences of course in the costs involved between cable and dsat plus cable has traditionally had a must carry rule right from the word go.

I can't believe that this situation will last too long, if the government is serious about analogue switch off the they can't expect DTT/Freeview to be the only non-subscription service with it's limited coverage.
 
Re FTV satelite - Do what I did. Complain to the the Dept of Media Sport and Culture in London

I was very annoyed about the loss of FTV satellite, as TV reception in the Isle of Wight is patchy at best. The only way to pick up CH4, and in good weather ITV, is via FTV.

It was a government manifesto promise that PBS TV (terrestrial to you and me) would remain free however it was broadcast.

So I rang up the government (at the above) and complained.

I was told I was not the first, and a list of email addresses is being taken, so that as developments happen, the public can remain informed, and they can properly guage the depth of feeling.

I asked if this was yet another example of the govt lying to the public. There are not many people who are worried whether the govt "sexed up" a report on Iraq.......but take Coronation St off a million viewers and the Minstry will find out what a real pressure group can do. The advertisers will have a say too.

The gentleman I spoke to told me that the whole thing is under active discussion, and there is dismay in the government at this turn of events. They do intend to keep FTV and will force the broadcasters to provide it if neccessary.

There are a number of ways forward, and the options on the table are

ITV, CH4 and CH5 may feel they wish to move to an un encrypted satellite like the Beeb.

They may decide to stump up the cash to continue to administer the FTV card (previously subsidised by the BBC who no longer pay for them as they have moved to a different satellite)

They may carry on the card and charge a notional £10 - £20 for a FTV card.

BUT I was assured that the Minister in charge of the department is having high level talks with Sky to come to an arrangement whereby it will continue to provide the chanels un encrypted.

If this fails, the new body that is to replace the ITC later in the year will pass a law stating that the PBS chanels are to be protected by statute and have to be distributed free of charge.

So the channels will continue to be provided free, the worst case scenario is there may be a hiccup for a few months.

Make sure there is no hiccup, complain to the very government department that has the power to do something about it. You are all passionate about your TV viewing, make your voice heard. The more calls they receive, the more they are likely to do something now rather than later.

Meantime, Sky, of course, will not tell you this, cos once they've got you to sign a contract, even at £6.25 a month, they've got you.

Try to get out of it and they'll say that it's for the provision of the other channels, such as Sky One.

Hey! We could form an AV pressure group. Couch potatos unite!

Karma
 
Channel five was broadcasting on Eutelsat W2 at 16.E and was FTA but has since gone so that may had been an answer for at least one of the channels. Shame it only lasted a few days!
 
Seems like a question that should be in this thread, rather than starting another... I currently have a Humax 5400 and twin LNBs dish pointing at hotbird and the old astras at 19 degrees.

If I get the second lnb moved to the new astra satellites, would my humax be able to let me view Live TV (i.e. is it FTA?) - or would I need to get a digibox off ebay and then get it (and would I need one of these 6.25 cards for my digibox?)

:smashin: for any help :)
 
Originally posted by niceblokejohn
Seems like a question that should be in this thread, rather than starting another... I currently have a Humax 5400 and twin LNBs dish pointing at hotbird and the old astras at 19 degrees.

If I get the second lnb moved to the new astra satellites, would my humax be able to let me view Live TV (i.e. is it FTA?)


At the momment L!VE TV is FTA on Eurobird at 28.5 degrees east.
 
Cheers Starburst :) So if I get someone out to realign my 2nd lnb to that, I should get both that Eurobird and the new Astra ones (as they're so close)?
 
Originally posted by niceblokejohn
Cheers Starburst :) So if I get someone out to realign my 2nd lnb to that, I should get both that Eurobird and the new Astra ones (as they're so close)?


SES has had birds at 28.2 degrees for 5 years, hardly new:)

Yep, a normal SKY installation aimed at the SES birds at 28.2 degrees will also using the 45cm minidish pick up Eurobird at 28.5 degrees, a larger dish should with a LNB focused in that region pick up all 4 birds at those two orbital slots.
You don't say how big your dish is, the bigger the better since the gap between Astra2 and Hotbird or Astra1 is quite high but barring that you should have no problems.
 
Cheers Starburst - you're a Star :smashin:

Dish is 80cm, so I should be ok -will ring up and book the move of the 2nd LNB tomorrow from our local sat guys :)
 

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