Sky Subscriptions - Looking for a company that arranges them

Hi,

Member of my family has the UK freeview system but she now wants to get some more channels especially the kids channels for the kids but despite searching the web I havent been able to find a company that lists what channels you can receive or how much the subscriptions would be. Having browsed through a few websites I have given up as the websites are about as informative as a Jehovahs Witness flyer, in fact the flyers are better reading.

Hoping that someone on here has a recommendation on a company so we can see what they can offer and how much she is looking at. Have checked the Sky website but didnt know if you receive everything they list in packages and assume prices will be more as she doesnt have a UK address to register a card.

Cheers

Dave

No UK address, no subscription. Simple. Any company offering subscriptions any other way are re-broadcasters, who may disappear overnight leaving you with nothing despite having paid for it. Well dodgy if you ask me!

Its not a re-broadcasting system she is after - one quick flick through RTN and there are adverts in there offering Sky Subscriptions and that, now I know that this is a grey area with regards to the legality of receiving these transmissions but if its direct off the Sky satelitte then it cant be re-broadcasting.

She has contacted a couple of out the paper anyway.......still waiting for a reply, customer service is not much of a priority with some businesses.

Another method used by some cowboys is to have many cards registered at one address (often an oil rig in the North Sea for example!) and flog these on, but SKY are not stupid. When they get wind of this type of operation, they simply de-activate said cards.

The only reliable and legit way is use a UK address, friend or family for example.

Ah think I may advise her then to stay well away - did originally tell her to go for the Canal+ system as we had that for a while and it did the job.

"The only reliable and legit way is use a UK address" didnt think it was legit though to take it out of the UK ;)

SKY do not have a licence to broadcast outside the UK - that doesn't mean if you have the equipment to receive & decode a signal etc., that you are doing anything illegal by picking it up  Just don't tell SKY you are taking it outside the UK.

There is a member here who has a very comprehensive website on the subject, and can probably answer your questions better than me. You can send him a privatge message from here

Thanks for that Roberto

Hi,

UK Freeview is not available in Spain. It is a UK only digital terrestrial service, whose signals are received from a land based transmitter (like Emly Moor) to the house via tv aerial on the roof, and whose siganls just do not reach Spain (if they were then the UK would only need 1 mast for the whole of the UK and not the 50plus they have!). Spain has its version of Freeview - TDT - 30ish digital TV channels via a TV aerial - soon to have a free to air MTV channel! (MTV soon on TDT)

If you have a Freesat box then you are stuck with the channels on there - CBBC, CBeebies, CITV, Pop Girl, Kix...(you my have to scan these in "non freesat mode".

To get more Kids programmes subscribe to pay tv - ie Sky.

You will need a sky box (SD or Sky+ or Sky HD) as freesat boxes do not have the ability to use a sky card.

Sky packages are broken up in to 6 genres, and you subscribe to one or all 6 of those genres.

Prices start at GBP18 per month, and add GBP1 per extra mix per month.

Sports and movies are "premium" channels and cost about GBP16 more per month.

Sky will be increadsing prices, as it does always once a year in September. Basic package is up by GBP1, Sky Sports is up by about GBP3 per month.

Sky Subsciption Package Channel Options should help you.

The use of a Sky card outside of the UK and ROI is against the terms and condition of your contract between you and Sky. If Sky find that you have broken the T&Cs they can stop the card. Whether or not the use of a Sky card outside the UK and ROI is "illegal" is a different matter - can you go to jail for using a SKy card in your private home in Spain? If so the jails will be full!

This is all down to the broadcast rights all the channel but from the programme makers, they buy for the UK market only. So those channels are only availble in a certain market where the cards are issued...this is what some people mean by "SKY do not have a licence to broadcast outside the UK". And these contracts between the channels and programme makers as to why UK TV is restricted - if the BBC waste UK lisence fee money on purchasing European rights for the programmes ts hows then yes the BBC could be moved to a satellite with a much more generous signal footprint. Most programmes are available to broadcsaters in other countries to buy and show, its just a question of "is it worth Telecinco spending a couple of million for Spanish TV rights to Corrie, will it get money back from advertisers to make it worth while?"

Anyway...

Three ways to get a sky card.

First, pay an agent a set up fee, and a yearly fee (about 150euros) to "borrow" a UK address. Personally I really do not like this reason, for various reasons, many of which were highlighted in the recent sky card change where many people could not contact thjeir card supplier as their installers have "gone back to the uk", and the agent in the UK could not send the new card out to the client, and so the clients were paying a monthly sub for a sky card that they did not have....cancel DD, set up a new card....

Second, pay an agent a set up fee, and use your own UK address. These set up fees are about 100 euros. Some do them free if you get the full install from them.

Thrid, do it your self using your own UK address (but you mau have ot be "creative" when contacting SKy - and remember that you should block any ID on the phonecalls to Sky from Spain so they cannot locate where you are, better to ask a freind or family member in the UK to "pretend" to be you. and do it on your behalf.

And not matter what size dish you have, not all channels will be available 24/7 - sky pack or not. Many of the Disney channels are on a frequency weaker than BBC2, which even a 3.1m dish can struggle to get 24/7. In some areas you can get this during the day until late afternoon, in other areas theya re unavailable and start to come in at late afternoon.

There is a member here who has a very comprehensive website on the subject, and can probably answer your questions better than me.

Cheers.

Just remember that not all installers, or English tradesmen in Spain are "cowboys".

Hope that helps...if not email, pm or post me and I shall try to answer questions

Thanks for showing up and helping me out - you could no doubt tell I was struggling a bit!

We all know there are a lot of cowboys out here operating in this and other fields, but rest assured, I would never post a link to the website of anyone who I thought fell into that category!

I'm fairly certain that if you use VOIP (such as SKYPE) to call the UK, the other end cannot ID where you are calling from? Or........?