Sky is calling time on its free upgrade offer to viewers still using older satellite receivers. Some Sky+HD users will also need to take action.
- Final group of affected viewers will be switched off in the next seven days.
- Viewers who’ve transferred their viewing card to a Sky+HD box without telling Sky also liable to be cut off.
- Final set of broadcaster changes won’t happen until after older boxes are terminated.
Sky is terminating the last batch of subscribers who haven’t upgraded to a newer satellite receiver and withdrawing the free upgrade offer in the process.
The final set of broadcasters are making changes to their service, which will result in older satellite receivers becoming redundant.
The majority of Sky satellite TV users have Sky Q and aren’t affected. However, you are affected if you can’t access BBC channels on your Sky box. You may have already lost most ITV channels. By the time Channel 4 completes its changes next month, it will already be too late to get a free upgrade.
Affected viewers who want to benefit from a free upgrade from Sky must contact Sky before their October billing date. Viewers who have already passed their billing date have already missed the deadline, first reported in August.
[Explainer] Why is the free Sky Q offer expiring?
When your Sky TV subscription is terminated due to lack of upgrade, you cease to be a customer and are no longer entitled to a free upgrade. That means subscribers who pass their October billing date without taking action cease to be entitled to the upgrade offer.
You can return to Sky as a new customer and you’ll get a Sky Q box if you want Sky via satellite. But a new subscription is subject to a set-up fee. Alternatively, you can opt for Sky’s internet-based TV service. If you want to use Sky’s internet TV service with an existing TV, you can order a Sky Stream puck.
How Sky+HD users could be caught out
Subscribers who have switched from an older Sky digibox to Sky+HD by buying a Sky+HD box from a third-party seller, including eBay, may also find their services disappear within days. Sky is urging subscribers who have done that to tell them, so they can update their records.
Sky has closed the third-party loophole for Sky Q boxes, as all Sky Q boxes are loaned to customers. Therefore, Sky Q boxes sold online by individuals are considered stolen property. As a result, customers using older boxes can’t just upgrade to Sky Q without going through Sky.
Sky hasn’t disclosed how many satellite TV viewers in the UK and Ireland are affected by these changes. However, numbers were estimated earlier this year to be in the low thousands and may have fallen further, with some viewers possibly deciding to continue watching TV services via a completely different platform.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: composite/Sky