PRESS RELEASE

Sky is launching a brand new subscription service, Sky Go Extra, which lets customers download the latest blockbuster films from Sky Movies and great content from channels such as Sky 1 and Sky Atlantic to watch when and where they want, without the need for a WiFi or 3G/4G connection. The service also lets Sky Go Extra customers register for Sky Go on up to four, rather than two, internet-connected devices.

Launching today and available to all Sky TV customers for just £5 per month, the new service delivers even more flexibility to Sky customers by letting them download movies and TV shows depending on their Sky TV subscription to their smartphone, tablet, laptop or MacBook via WiFi to watch offline later. So whether in a car, on a flight or on the train or Tube, Sky customers will be able to enjoy a wide range of content anywhere, not just where they can find a reliable WiFi or high-speed mobile connection.

The launch of the new service builds on the success of Sky Go, which offers Sky customers access to live and on demand programmes and films from up to 43 channels on a wide range of internet-connected devices including laptops, smartphones, tablets and games consoles. Sky Go now attracts more than 3 million unique users each quarter.

Watch SKY online with SKY GO. Live sports, news, box sets, catch up movies, shows and entertainment. For SKY TV customers, anywhere in New Zealand. The unmissable TV series on Sky's streaming service. Updated for March 2021. (see our recommendations from that line-up here), it also offers a separate, nicely affordable 'Entertainment Pass' that grants you access to hundreds of TV shows. The creators of Gomorrah go global with this ambitious series. On-demand entertainment: Sky Go has a huge collection of on-demand programmes and films to enjoy, ranging from box sets of hit dramas to blockbuster films. Although, bear in mind that what you can access will depend on the TV package you're signed up to.

In addition to being able to download content, Sky Go Extra customers are also able to register for Sky Go on up to four, rather than two, internet-connected devices, giving Sky households even more flexibility over when and where they enjoy the service.

Sky Go Extra is the first mobile TV subscription service in the UK and Ireland to offer Hollywood movies to download and watch offline. With a choice of hundreds of titles exclusive to Sky Movies available to download at any one time, Sky Go Extra customers who subscribe to the Sky Movies pack will be able to download blockbuster releases around six months after they have ended their run in cinemas. Once downloaded, customers can store the films on their portable devices for up to 30 days.

Blockbusters such as Avengers Assemble, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows and Pirates In An Adventure with Scientists will all be available for download through the service, alongside the entire James Bond film catalogue, containing all twenty-two official Bond films. All titles are available exclusively to Sky Movies subscribers and will not be available on any other online movies subscription service for a least a year after they first appear on Sky Movies.

Sky Go Extra customers will also be able to download the latest shows from channels including Sky Atlantic, Sky 1, Sky Living and Sky Arts, as well as partner channels such as Nickelodeon and Disney. This includes the best of the US, including Girls and The Following (Sky Atlantic), as well as Sky's own home-grown hits such as Stella, An Idiot Abroad and Trollied (Sky 1). Customers with a 64 GB iPad will be able to store in excess of 400 half-hour shows and more than 80 movies.

Stephen van Rooyen, Managing Director of Sales & Marketing at Sky, comments: 'Building on the ever-growing popularity of Sky Go, Sky Go Extra lets Sky customers download great movies and TV shows to take with them to watch offline whenever and wherever suits them, as well as access to Sky Go on up to four internet-connected devices. Together with our comprehensive On Demand service and our range of award-winning apps, we continue to deliver helpful and innovative ways for Sky customers to enjoy even more flexibility over when, where and how they enjoy Sky.'
During 2012, millions of Sky customers have used Sky Go to watch movies on demand, with Bad Teacher, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Captain America: The First Avenger the three most popular movies on Sky Go last year. Entertainment series on demand have also proven popular on Sky Go, with more than 2.5 million views of the second series of An Idiot Abroad and 1.1 million views of the latest season of Game of Thrones.

Sky Go Extra is the latest in a series of recent developments from Sky that help customers take full control of their TV viewing. This includes Sky's comprehensive TV On Demand service through the Sky+HD box, which now delivers hundreds of hours of catch-up TV from the BBC, ITV, Channel 5 and Sky channels alongside on demand access to shows from a number of other leading channels including UKTV, MTV and Discovery. Sky also offers its customers a wide range of award-winning apps at no extra cost, including the popular Sky+ app, which can even be used as a remote control for the Sky+HD box.

To sign up to Sky Go Extra, all customers need to do is visit sky.com/shop/offers/sky-go-extra. Once they've done this, the next time they enter the Sky Go app they will be able to download programmes and register two more devices. To provide even more flexibility, Sky Go customers can cancel the service at any time, subject to giving 31 days' notice. Sky Go customers will also be able to sign up for a two month free trial of Sky Go Extra until the end of March.

For more details, please see our blog on Sky Views.

Sky Movies content can be watched for up to 30 days and once viewing commences is available for 48 hours. Most other Sky content can be watched for up to 7 days and once viewing commences is available for 48 hours. Sky Go Extra customers will be able to register up to four internet-connected devices for Sky Go, viewing content via WiFi or 3G/4G on a maximum of two at any one time.

About Sky Go

Sky Go brings together online and mobile TV in a simple service for Sky TV customers at no extra cost. Available on PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, selected Android smartphones and Xbox 360, Sky Go allows Sky customers to watch content in line with their subscription while on the move in the UK and Ireland through a 3G or WiFi connection. Each Sky home is entitled to register up to two devices, through which they can enjoy access to live channels and selected on-demand content.
On computers customers can access up to 43 live TV channels, including all six Sky Sports channels, Sky Movies, Sky News, Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts, MTV, Disney, G.O.LD, Nickelodeon, NatGeo, History, Eden, Eurosport and ESPN, supported by an extensive library of on-demand content. Sky Go is also available to non-Sky TV customers, with monthly subscriptions priced from £15-£40.

Compatible iOs mobile devices: iPhone 3GS and above, iPad 1 & 2 and iPod touch 4th generation, and is compatible on a total of 26 Android handsets, including OS versions 2.2, 2.3 and 4.0.

About Sky

Sky is the UK and Ireland's leading home entertainment and communications company. Around 40% of all homes have a direct relationship with Sky through its range of TV, broadband and home telephony services.

Sky is the UK's biggest investor in television content, investing more than £2.3 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News. Around two-thirds of Sky's content spend is invested in the UK and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original British programmes. More than 30 million people watch Sky content each week.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator. Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.

Sky distributes its content broadly over several platforms, including satellite, cable, IPTV, mobile and WiFi. NOW TV, Sky's second consumer brand, builds on the company's leadership in internet TV. Sky is also the UK's fastest-growing home communications company and favourite ‘triple-play' provider of TV, broadband and home phone.

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates by taking positive action on the environment, supporting grassroots sports and increasing access to, and participation in, the arts. Sky employs 23,000 people, has annual revenues of £6.8 billion and is estimated to support a £5.4 billion contribution to UK GDP. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BSY). www.sky.com/corporate.

Some Sky customers will see their bills rise by up to £72 a year from April. See how you'll be affected, and what you can do to dodge the latest round of hikes.

Sky hikes prices

Millions of Sky customers face paying up to an extra £72 a year after it announced its latest round of price hikes.

The size of your bill increase will vary depending on your existing deal, with the average Sky customer paying an extra £3 a month or £36 a year.

Sky Go Entertainment Login

Price rises will be capped at an extra £6 a month, or £72 a year.

Sky says that less than one in 10 (8%) of customers will pay the maximum price hike.

TV and broadband bills will rise from 1 April, while home phone prices will rise from 1 May.

Full list of Sky price hikes

Here’s a run-through of the various packages, and how prices will change:

• Sky Broadband Essential will increase by £3 a month (from £22 to £25 a month);
• Sky Broadband Superfast will increase by £1 a month (from £27 to £28 a month);
• Sky Talk Anytime Extra will increase by £2 a month (from £10 to £12 a month);
• Sky Talk International Extra will increase by £2 a month (from £12 to £14 a month);
• Sky Signature TV package will increase by £1 a month (from £25 to £26 a month);
• Multiscreen will increase by £1 a month (from £14 to £15 a month);
• Sky HD will increase by £1 a month (from £6 to £7 a month);
• Sky Ultimate will increase by £1 a month (from £4 to £5 a month);
• BT Sport will increase by £2 a month (from £25 to £27 a month).

The affected Sky TV and broadband customers will see their bills jump from 1st April, while home phone customers will pay more from 1st May. They will be notified of the price changes by post by 27th March.

Broadband customers who are still in the minimum term of their contract can leave penalty-free if they act within 30 days of receiving their notification.

Time to move?

If you're among those affected, you might want to fight back. There are thankfully loads of options available to you, which we'll run through in this piece.

Do you really need the whole bundle?

The full Sky package has so many channels, and chances are you only ever watch a tiny fraction of them.

It’s quite easy to remove or cancel certain packages from your account. Go to My Sky on TV or Broadband & Talk (depending on what you want to amend) and sign in.

Then select the product you would like to remove from the Your Package section. Just follow the links to make the changes.

Even if you only have a phone and broadband package, go through your bills to see how much of your free calls allowance you actually use. There could be an opportunity to move to a cheaper calls package.

Use one-off Now TV passes

Alternatively, you could ditch the Sky TV part of your package and use Now TV passes when you want to watch popular series such as Game of Thrones or catch up with sports.

Now TV passes allow you to stream Sky services on multiple devices via an app or set-top box.

There are five NOW TV passes to choose from: movies, entertainment, sports, kids and hayu (for reality shows).

The Entertainment Pass is £9.99 a month. You'll have access to over 300 box sets and 13 pay TV channels, which aren't on Freeview.

The 'Cinema Pass' is a bit more expensive at £11.99 a month but you'll be able to watch over 1,000 films and a new premiere every day.

Sky Sports day passes start from £9.98 if you want to catch up with the latest matches/races/events. Alternatively, you can get a month's pass for £33.99, which automatically renews every month.

The Kids and Hayu packages are the cheapest at just £3.99 a month and £4.99 respectively.

The Kids package allows your little ones to watch programmes from their favourite channels, including Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, while the hayu package is ideal for reality TV fans.

You can try the Entertainment, Cinema, Kids TV or Hayu pass with a seven-day free trial.

Blue Sky Entertainment

Haggle!

In short, haggling is the best thing you can do to get a cheaper deal with Sky. Sky practically tells you to do it on its ‘Stay with Sky’ page!

All you have to do is call 03337 594 464.

If you’re not confident speaking on the phone, it’s worth noting down what you’re going to say, taking every possible outcome into account.

Have some negotiating phrases ready and use past problems as ammunition.

Try to avoid calling at peak periods like Mondays, lunchtimes, weekends and just after work. You want to get as much time with the operator as possible, so call when it’s quieter.

There are three sure-fire phrases to getting you a better deal: ‘I’m leaving’, ‘I’m paying too much for my current package’ and ‘x offers a similar deal cheaper.’

To back up your argument, check the best buys on the market right now to see if you can genuinely get a better deal elsewhere. You can start your search at BroadbanGenie.

Whats On Sky Entertainment Pass

The main aim is to get through to the retentions department (more commonly known as ‘disconnections’) as they have a lot more power to give you discounts than the customer service team do.

Be charming. Acting rude or entitled will put the operator on the defensive, meaning that you’re less likely to get a better deal.

You don’t necessarily have to go with the first offer either, giving you wiggle room to haggle even more!

That said, try not to push the operator too much as it’ll ruin your hard work. Listen out for verbal cues like defensive language, hesitation and impatience.

If they call your bluff, say you need to check with your partner/flatmates/parents first. You’ll hopefully speak to someone different next time.

And if they go silent, wait for them to fill in the gap.

They’re hoping that you’ll accept the price to end the silence, so don’t give in. Our editor saved £240 just by threatening to leave for a cheaper deal.

Find out more at How to haggle and save a fortune.

Ask for extras

Ask if they can chuck in any freebies such as free calls or extra channels, particularly if they can’t bring your cost down.

Have a go at blagging movies or an extra sports channel on top of your current deal.

Be prepared to leave to get what you want

If you don't get a decent offer, then you might be better off simply leaving, as long as you won't have to pay any exit fees of course.

Leave it a little while, and you will likely be contacted by Sky with some sort of return offer. These vary by customer, but we've heard tales of 33% off for five years, or even 75% off for a year.

Alternatively, you can attempt to play the cashback game. You can pocket some decent cash when you take out a deal with Sky from sites like Quidco.

Add more services

Add more? Isn’t that a bit contradictory?

Sometimes taking multiple services from one provider can reduce your bill.

For example, if you just have broadband with a provider then chances are it's more expensive than if you have a phone and broadband package.

If you do decide to add more services, aim for an upgrade offer rather than just adding a service to your current package.

By just adding a service the standard price will likely apply, meaning that you lose out on substantial savings.

As always, haggle – see if you can get the extra services at a better price than advertised!

You can check Sky's full range of products and offers here.

Of course, the downside to signing up to more packages and products is that you'll likely be particularly hard hit when the next round of price hikes rolls around (assuming you're out of contract).

*This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently.