Ta-ta, $ky.

Well, after being a $ky customer since the dark distant days of BSB, I
finally cancelled by $ky subscription today - I will be without the
delights of red dots, incessant ad. breaks, trailers, endless repeats,
the $ky magazine and other such dross sometime on 29/11/03. I'm sure
that I'll get withdrawal symptoms but at (soon to be) £31.50/month for a
mirror sub. for the amount that I actually watch on the non FTV/FTA
channels it was time to call things a day. Oh, and I can also scrub my
second 'phone line too because I don't need to keep my boxes connected,
so double savings.

I managed to cancel without being put on hold for too long and got asked
all of the usual questions as to why I wanted to cancel. I then got
asked what would actually keep me a $ky customer and I said the ability
to pick what channels I'd like, rather than pay for a lump of channels
that I have no interest in whatsoever. The $ky guy said, funny, that's
something we get all of the time. So, let me get this right: $ky could
keep a percentage of its churning customer base by altering the way it
supplies its encrypted channels, but it seems that this info. isn't
getting fed back to the head honchos, but more likely they don't care or
don't want to rock the cash-cow boat (way too many metaphors here!).

If I could have reduced what I was paying $ky per month but have picked
a few channels that I really wanted, say at £1/channel/month, they would
have kept me as a customer, but the ridiculous 'pay £12.50/month for
little more than $ky One' verses £18.50/month for lots of crap seems to
be the only way that $ky want to offer their wares.

I suspect that in time things will have to change. The argument that
those 'weaker' channels will die without a cut of the package fees just
doesn't wash with me - if a channel doesn't have any viewers then it's a
crap channel and deserves to disappear.

I'll certainly miss watching all of the latest series of Stargate SG-1
on $ky One, but then it's looking pretty lame anyway, and not having
access to E4 (a channel that I would still like to watch) will be a
pain, but I'll see how I fare. I can always re-subscribe if I get
serious withdrawal problems ......



Clem

Clem Dye wrote:
Well, after being a $ky customer since the dark distant days of BSB, I
finally cancelled by $ky subscription today - I will be without the
delights of red dots, incessant ad. breaks, trailers, endless repeats,
the $ky magazine and other such dross sometime on 29/11/03. I'm sure
that I'll get withdrawal symptoms but at (soon to be) £31.50/month for a
mirror sub. for the amount that I actually watch on the non FTV/FTA
channels it was time to call things a day.

I think you may be surprised how quickly you get over the loss.

I managed to cancel without being put on hold for too long and got asked
all of the usual questions as to why I wanted to cancel. I then got
asked what would actually keep me a $ky customer and I said the ability
to pick what channels I'd like, rather than pay for a lump of channels
that I have no interest in whatsoever. The $ky guy said, funny, that's
something we get all of the time. So, let me get this right: $ky could
keep a percentage of its churning customer base by altering the way it
supplies its encrypted channels, but it seems that this info. isn't
getting fed back to the head honchos, but more likely they don't care or
don't want to rock the cash-cow boat (way too many metaphors here!).

I`ve always said there should be a pick`n`mix option, and the higher the
price of the so-called `cheaper` packages becomes the more convinced I am.

mick

Clem Dye wrote:

Well, after being a $ky customer since the dark distant days of BSB, I
finally cancelled by $ky subscription today

Me too. I also got the hard sell when I phoned them up. E4 will be the
channel I most miss, and the best of which gets repeated on C4 anyway.

What really changed my mind, is getting a Freeview TV adaptor for my
computer. I'm recording so much stuff now, I simply can't watch it all,
let alone watch any Sky.



I suspect that in time things will have to change. The argument that
those 'weaker' channels will die without a cut of the package fees just
doesn't wash with me - if a channel doesn't have any viewers then it's a
crap channel and deserves to disappear.


Mmmm, not necessarily. A channel that specialises in less-mainstream
material, may only show one program a week that your interested in...
but if that one program was the best you have seen all week, then it's
worth having. I would much rather have BBC4 over many of the other
channels which I probably watch more of, and yet without a licence fee,
I doubt that channel would ever exist.

S.