Alternatives to sky
Discussion
Currently got sky which we've had for years, just the basic package and kids, not even got HD and am paying nearly £40 a month. Thinking of binning sky off and looking for something else, perhaps now tv. Anybody else dumped sky and found something better? Sky is obviously so easy to use and the recording facility is great, not sure it's worth the money though.
I don't get the requirement to record these days as everything you might want to watch outside of the broadcast timings is available on-line. But even my TV has the capability to record - just plug a USB stick into it and you can record off its inbuilt Freeview receiver.
Anything else is available from Amazon, Netflix, etc etc...
Anything else is available from Amazon, Netflix, etc etc...
sjj84 said:
Currently got sky which we've had for years, just the basic package and kids, not even got HD and am paying nearly £40 a month. Thinking of binning sky off and looking for something else, perhaps now tv. Anybody else dumped sky and found something better? Sky is obviously so easy to use and the recording facility is great, not sure it's worth the money though.
Not Sky but same deal with Virgin. Our alternative was Freeview. Same as you I was worried about the lack of recording ability losing the TiVo box but between all the demand options and a smart telly we haven’t missed it once.
Plus, you know, it’s free.
We were paying £40-odd per month for Sky for years and years. Eventually I was fed up of hundreds of channels full of absolute crap and called to cancel. They offered Q box for the same price, reduced this and that but I got rid. Didn’t miss it all with Netflix, Amazon and freeview.
I did go back after a couple of years when they offered a good deal for £19 per month but I’ve just ended that too. Even when they offered to keep it at the same price I had to be honest and say “I just don’t watch £20 worth of Sky TV a month, simple as that.
They try and sell you these clever boxes that can record loads of channels at once but like I said to the guy (and has already been mentioned), everyone has everything on catch up these days, there’s no need to record.
I did go back after a couple of years when they offered a good deal for £19 per month but I’ve just ended that too. Even when they offered to keep it at the same price I had to be honest and say “I just don’t watch £20 worth of Sky TV a month, simple as that.
They try and sell you these clever boxes that can record loads of channels at once but like I said to the guy (and has already been mentioned), everyone has everything on catch up these days, there’s no need to record.
Now TV is a good option. I've had it before.
I used to have Virgin Media TV for years and got sick of their price rises. Although I do still have their broadband no other services from them.
My main sources of TV are now via the Internet, Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube.
I also have free view as a back up.
It was strange at first not using a traditional TV service but im very happy with what I have now and wouldn't go back to Virgin or Sky. I think their TV services are going to die out over the long term.
I used to have Virgin Media TV for years and got sick of their price rises. Although I do still have their broadband no other services from them.
My main sources of TV are now via the Internet, Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube.
I also have free view as a back up.
It was strange at first not using a traditional TV service but im very happy with what I have now and wouldn't go back to Virgin or Sky. I think their TV services are going to die out over the long term.
Jamescrs said:
Now TV is a good option. I've had it before.
I used to have Virgin Media TV for years and got sick of their price rises. Although I do still have their broadband no other services from them.
My main sources of TV are now via the Internet, Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube.
I also have free view as a back up.
It was strange at first not using a traditional TV service but im very happy with what I have now and wouldn't go back to Virgin or Sky. I think their TV services are going to die out over the long term.
Iv only got the TV because it was cheaper getting it all as a package. I only use the netflix etc aswel. I used to have Virgin Media TV for years and got sick of their price rises. Although I do still have their broadband no other services from them.
My main sources of TV are now via the Internet, Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube.
I also have free view as a back up.
It was strange at first not using a traditional TV service but im very happy with what I have now and wouldn't go back to Virgin or Sky. I think their TV services are going to die out over the long term.
Bt have installed the new fibre stuff in my street so come end of the contract iv got options for once!
I'd forgotten my tv can record, thanks for the reminder! I wouldn't say it's an obsession with being able to record, it's just what we are used to!
Where are you getting the now tv deals from?
Looking through our sky planner, the majority of it seems to be free view channels. Might give that a try for a while and just get the now tv kids package, can't live without fireman sam or peppa pig!
Where are you getting the now tv deals from?
Looking through our sky planner, the majority of it seems to be free view channels. Might give that a try for a while and just get the now tv kids package, can't live without fireman sam or peppa pig!
We dumped SKY a few months ago due to the ridiculous costs and lack of content we cared about. Discounted NOW TV and a Netflix subscription for a combined cost of < £20 a month have replaced it and provide more than enough content for everyone. Have also subscribed to Disney+ recently as their content has improved and lots there for £7.99 a month bringing our total bill to about £25.
sjj84 said:
I'd forgotten my tv can record, thanks for the reminder! I wouldn't say it's an obsession with being able to record, it's just what we are used to!
Where are you getting the now tv deals from?
Looking through our sky planner, the majority of it seems to be free view channels. Might give that a try for a while and just get the now tv kids package, can't live without fireman sam or peppa pig!
You tube on a smart telly is your friend there. Although between Prime, Disney+ and iPlayer you're pretty much covered too. Where are you getting the now tv deals from?
Looking through our sky planner, the majority of it seems to be free view channels. Might give that a try for a while and just get the now tv kids package, can't live without fireman sam or peppa pig!
We had Sky TV & broadband in our last house, the bills always seemed to creep up. We moved and they made a right mess of the changeover, so we kicked them into touch and have internet through BT. Son put me on to Now TV, it fulfils most needs for a lot less money. I do miss being able to whizz through the adverts, though.
We binned off Virgin Media for the same reasons a couple of years ago. I bought Rokus to run Now TV on each of the 4 TV's in our house (slightly more flexible than Now's own dongles which are the same hardware). I think we have an Entertainment pack which gives a load of the Sky Ents channels, think its about a tenner a month (wife is the subscriber). They've recently added Nat Geo so you can get stuff like Car SOS. I also get a day or month pass for Sports when there's something I specifically want to watch is on. We also have Netflix. Most of our watching is now on catch-up rather than live. No Ad skipping is indeed a slight annoyance (and they're very unimaginative with what they pipe in, seeing the same ad repeatedly on a single session). The only other inconvenience is not having a single place to bookmark/alert. I've resorted to a good old fashioned notepad to keep a track of what we would have previously set up on a planner or series link on the Tivo.
I don't see how Sky & VM's business model can survive in its current form.
I don't see how Sky & VM's business model can survive in its current form.
Kinky said:
I've been debating similar.
One small question re: Now TV. How does it differ to Sky? Can you watch live channels on it, record, etc?
Its basically just a hub for streaming on-demand services. The extra subscription for Entertainment gives you access to channels like Sky1, Sky Atlantic, Nat Geo etc. No recording necessary. You can bookmark your favourites. You can watch live if the channel hub streams live such as BBC, ITV. One small question re: Now TV. How does it differ to Sky? Can you watch live channels on it, record, etc?
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