Sky has just halved the cost of its HD set-top satellite box, slashing the price from £150 to £75 for the month of October. But the £10 monthly fee for the HD Mix of programmes remains.
Standard installation is free for new customers and existing customers who take the multiroom option, otherwise it costs £30.
The latest moves comes as Sky prepares to combat the arrival of Freesat which is offering subscription-free HDTV via satellite. Sky had already cut the price of its HD box by £100 back in June, as we reported here, and in August it announced it is adding seven more HD channels to its line-up from next month.
It's all part of a concerted campaign by Sky to keep ahead of its competitors in high-definition TV. The new Sky+ HD set-top box is made by Pace, replacing the original Thomson model, and we'll be reviewing it online shortly.
The company is also working on a new high-definition electronic programme guide (EPG) packed with new features to make it easier to use.
Dr Mcr September 30, 2008 10:49
Thanks GC1.
Please don't flame me for this.... but is all satellite cable the same, or is it like HDMI - you gets what you pay for?
Dr Mcr
gc1 September 26, 2008 15:34
dr mcr if you have the cable ready you should be ok . The engineers usually are delighted if you cut their workload .
Dr Mcr September 26, 2008 14:47
Right,
I think I'll be upgrading from standard sky mid next month.
Has anyone experienced their policy on upgrading non standard installations yet? We had a local company fit our standard sky package (without sky plus) and paid a little extra to have the cable run into the loft and back out again as the dish is at the opposite corner of the house to the lounge.
Will I have to buy cable and feed it into and out of the loft for the engineer, or are they likely to just walk away from the job?
bulloy September 25, 2008 14:28
Greedy, Greedy Sky will they ever learn...?
rogueelement September 25, 2008 14:05
@DarkCell
...and let you install it yourself too. I assume there is still a fee (£60? £30?) for that privilege.
It's the £10/month extra that is putting me off....
DarkCell September 25, 2008 13:17
If they left the box at £150 and scrapped the £10 monthly fee they would have a far greater up take of new HD customers. Only worth if if you want movies in HD, standard HD mix is pants.
I know the problem of HD program availability isn't Skys fault, but to try and cop us for £10 aswell! How stoopid do they think we are?
gc1 September 25, 2008 12:25
It should read 'introduce a friend and loose him 'if you ask me.
rogueelement September 25, 2008 12:10
Great, having recently 'introduced a friend' to Sky, my reward for doing so was going to be...wait for it...a Sky HD box for just £75, or a free SD Sky plus box (which I have already).
There is one final option, £50 M&S Vouchers, it'll have to be that....pants to SKY!