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Sky has announced the date its next generation of boxes are going on sale, as well as pricing for the new Sky Q set-up.
Tuesday February 9 is the date to circle in your calendar if you are extremely keen to sign up or upgrade to the new service, which boasts a brand new Sky interface, as well as new multi-room features, a touch and voice-driven remote and brand new slimline boxes to power the whole thing.
Sky also said that installations would begin at the end of the month, but the big question is how much will it cost? Here’s the breakdown.
Those who aren’t with Sky already can join Sky Q for £99 – that’s the installation cost – and then one of two bundles at either £42 or £54. The former is the Sky Q bundle, the latter the bigger, Sky Q Silver bundle which has multi-room watching at the same time, as well as more storage on the box and the ability to record four shows at once while watching a fifth.
Customers can then add sport, movies and entertainment bundles as they see fit, with movies costing an extra £17 a month and sports £22.50. Get them both together and Sky will give them to you for £34.50.
Existing Sky+ customers will pay depending on the package they currently have with the company. Typically, Sky says, it will cost customers around £12 to upgrade – though some could pay as little as £1.50 a month more.
For example, a customer who already has the Sky+ Family bundle, sports, movies and multiscreen that costs £87 could upgrade to Sky Q Silver for only £1.50 a month more, plus a set-up fee of £149.
The TV analysts were quick to react to the pricing announcement, and given how competitive the market has suddenly become thanks to the likes of Netflix, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV streaming services, the verdict was that Sky had got it about right.
“Expensive is a relative concept. Sky Q’s pricing is right on the money for early adopters and digital TV enthusiasts,” said Dan Howdle, consumer telecoms expert at broadband and TV advice site Cable.co.uk.
“Sky habitually runs offers and promotions on its TV packages and bundles – I would anticipate the appearance of lower-cost Sky Q ‘deals’ aimed at casting a wider net before the end of this year.
“The price of Sky Q could, in fact, have been a lot higher. Sky’s decision to retain box ownership – meaning subscribers essentially rent the equipment – has no doubt kept Sky Q from becoming totally out of reach for the majority of customers.
“Is it worth the money? Well, to understand the pricing, you first need to understand where Sky Q sits among Sky’s other digital TV offerings. Far from being a replacement to Sky’s existing offerings, it forms an entirely new tier over and above it.”
Paolo Pescatore, from market analyst CCS Insight, was also impressed.
“This punchy offer is more aggressive than we had anticipated,” he said.
“Rivals should be concerned with Sky Q and its potential for further disruption. Articulating the vast array of features will be a challenge. Despite this, Sky has a long track record in successfully marketing any new services and we firmly believe that Sky Q will be no exception.”
However, Ewan Taylor-Gibson, TV expert at uSwitch.com, did suggest that Sky could be pricing itself too highly for many users.
“Sky Q is clearly targeting households prepared to pay premium prices for TV. With an installation cost just shy of £100 it could put off those who have benefited from a highly competitive TV market – and some cut-price packages – in recent months.
“The cheapest £42 per month deal doesn’t include the most interesting feature, called ‘multi-room’, where families can all watch different content, on different devices, in different rooms,” he continued.
“But being able to download and watch a much wider range of content on the go, even on the most basic Sky Q package, will be a sure fire hit with commuters, and families who fight over the remote.
“Given the average UK household only spends £24 a month on their TV, Sky is clearly limiting itself to the top end of the market. But for those who are already invested in their Sky TV package, upgrading to Sky Q could only cost a few extra pounds per month – which makes it an appealing offer.
“But it’s a tactic that’s positioning Sky further away from cheap, pay-monthly streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. And it’s a risky move. Budget streaming services that don’t tie people into lengthy contracts, coupled with cut-price packages across the TV market, mean people have fewer reasons to stay loyal.
“Some of Sky Q’s features are already familiar – essentially a Sky-branded way to turn your telly into smart TV. Note that you will still need a satellite dish sullying your kerb appeal. That said, it is catering to demand for flexible viewing and Sky Q has delivered in creating a wireless TV ecosystem for its users.”
