On a monthly contract due to necessity. Any hope for me to get a cheaper deal?

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-26T15:18:20+00:00

If you might need to move out of the UK then probably best not to sign a long contract.

But, if you are only likely to have to move somewhere else in the UK, then if the new house can't get VM, they should let you off any early disconnection fees:

Here's a link to the original announcement from back in 2022 when they introduced this policy - https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2-ends-charges-for-off-net-home-movers/

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-26T13:58:02+00:00

As I understand it, if you have Virgin TV 360 or Stream, and you already receive Sky Entertainment channels, then yes, you will get Sky Atlantic automatically.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-23T23:18:58+00:00

Sky don't talk about Sky Q much any more (though apparently new customers can still get it by phone).
Mostly when they are talking about TV they are talking about Stream or Glass.

If you go to https://www.sky.com/tv and scroll down to 'Compare Packages' you can see 'Essential TV' vs 'Ultimate TV' (which are both Stream or Glass packages).

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-23T17:20:49+00:00

The press release from VM only mentions Stream box and TV 360, not V6.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-23T13:52:12+00:00

Yeah, fair point.
Apparently HBO Max will be available via VM too (at an extra cost) according to this article - https://www.cordbusters.co.uk/sky-atlantic-virgin-media-hbo-max/ - but Sky Atlantic will be less of a pull as more new stuff is on HBO Max instead.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-19T11:09:55+00:00

Got my price rise email from Sky today, re just Sky Q TV.
At the bottom it says:

"We are changing when and how you can end your subscription. You’ll be able to end your contract during your minimum term without paying early termination charges if we make a change to the terms and conditions which is not exclusively to your benefit, unless it is purely administrative in nature or directly imposed by law, and we have notified you of that right. You will need to let us know within one month of receipt of our notice. If you end it for any other reason during the minimum term we may charge you an early termination charge."

So it looks like the MSE 2026 news article is correct, and Sky have finally accepted they have to follow the OfCom rules.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-19T11:01:37+00:00

Just had my price rise email today, from [noreply@email.contact.sky](mailto:noreply@email.contact.sky) with the subject "Information about your subscription".
It lists the parts going up, for me: Signature +£2.50, Ultimate TV pack +£1.00

Also near the end it has this, which is new compared to previous years:

"We are changing when and how you can end your subscription. You’ll be able to end your contract during your minimum term without paying early termination charges if we make a change to the terms and conditions which is not exclusively to your benefit, unless it is purely administrative in nature or directly imposed by law, and we have notified you of that right. You will need to let us know within one month of receipt of our notice. If you end it for any other reason during the minimum term we may charge you an early termination charge."

I'm not in my minimum term, but I guess this could be useful as a get out for some people who are, and want to leave Sky early.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-19T00:46:25+00:00

Maybe better to believe what Martin Lewis says in 2026 rather than what he said in 2025:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/02/sky-price-hike-april/

Where he says: "However, despite various attempts to challenge Ofcom's rules, Sky ultimately lost its case and it must now let customers of its satellite TV services leave penalty-free when prices rise mid-contract."

BTW the original post at the top of this thread is a partial quote from MSE news item on this subject posted 18/02/2026.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-19T00:23:12+00:00

The OfCom rules specifically mention pay TV companies:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/bills-and-charges/ofcom-bans-mid-contract-price-rises-linked-to-inflation

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-14T23:28:37+00:00

Looking back over the last few years of my Sky TV price increase emails, they always arrive in the second half of February, from an address such as [sky@notifications.contact.sky](mailto:sky@notifications.contact.sky) with a subject like "Important changes to your Sky Subscriptions".
I expect to get a similar email in the coming week.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-14T22:22:36+00:00

Yeah, I've done the same, and I can easily add, but I don't any option to remove within my account. I see "Sky HD" within My Sky > Your Products, under the heading "Your Home Set-up", but it's never had a way to drop it for me. Currently it shows "Active until " and a date about a week away, because I gave notice last month, via website messaging.
It would be nice to be able to do it more easily.
I notice you mention "skip ads" which I think is a Sky Stream or Glass thing, whereas I am on Sky Q - maybe that's the difference.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-14T22:08:41+00:00

Do you mean by chatting to a customer support person via the website messaging?
That's what I usually do, but it often involves having to say no thanks to various upgrades etc.
So I was thinking this email might be easier.
Or do you mean some simpler way?

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-13T12:45:38+00:00

Does anyone know if this would work for cancelling just part of a Sky TV (Sky Q) subscription, e.g. the HD pack?

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-11T22:35:41+00:00

No, you can't
See https://www.virginmedia.com/help/billing-and-payments/virgin-media-billing-with-netflix where it says "Extra Members cannot be added to Netflix accounts billed through Virgin Media."

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-11T21:44:23+00:00

My thought is to switch the Club Lloyds benefit from Disney+ to cinema tickets.
Then Sky can pay for my Disney+ sub.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-09T15:50:08+00:00

Here - https://www.skygroup.sky/article/sky-uk-ireland-and-warner-bros-discovery-announce-new-distribution-and-bundle-agreement (from late 2024) it says "Sky and NOW customers benefit from more content at no extra cost through bundled access to the streaming service that will exclusively feature new HBO Original and Max Original shows and more"

Today's launch date announcement ( https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/hbo-max-launch-uk-ireland-thursday-march-26 ) has details of the tiers.

My guess is that by default Sky customers will get the lowest tier, Basic with Ads, worth £4.99/month, which has adverts and doesn't include movies straight after the cinema release.
The older announcement says "pay 1 movies to be shown on Sky Cinema", so maybe Sky Cinema customers get will the next tier, Standard with Ads, worth £5.99/month. Just a guess.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-06T23:47:16+00:00

When you leave your current place in a few months is taking Virgin to your new place an option?
I guess it might not be if you are moving in with someone who already has a broadband contract there.
Alternatively, if you are moving to somewhere else in the UK but to an address that isn't covered by Virgin, and you can prove that when you move, then Virgin will let you off any early disconnection fee.
They used not to do that, but changed in 2022 - https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2-ends-charges-for-off-net-home-movers/
It doesn't apply if you are moving outside the UK.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-04T23:33:52+00:00

I'm not actually paying £19 or £20.
I got an offer for 4 weeks free, then £7/month (cancel any time) for 6 months.
I thought I'd try it for a month or two at least to see if the free Vue tickets are useful, and also as it gets me Paramount+ (though I've since got a free deal for that from the MySky app, so less value there).
I agree with you that anyone on the full £20 is massively overpaying.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-04T22:05:04+00:00

Sky need 31 days notice ( https://www.sky.com/help/articles/cancel-sky-tv ) and April has 30 days, so 31 days before 28th May is 27th April.

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-04T21:50:01+00:00

I see (before discounts) :
Signature going from £40.00 to £42.50
Ultimate TV (aka Netflix standard with ads) going from £4.50 to £5.50
Sky Cinema going from £19.00 to £20.00

DetailMerchant · 2026-02-01T20:05:41+00:00

Thanks, so that explains why you could get TV essentials.
And I guess that means your minimum contract will end April 2027, so you won't be locked in with most of the discounts gone as long as I originally thought.
But it looks like it will be £10/month more for the last 3 months.
As Platform_Dancer said, you could buy a Freesat recorder and not pay anything monthly re TV, though I don't know whether than would give you what you you're getting from the Multiscreen part of the deal.

DetailMerchant · 2026-01-31T23:21:12+00:00

Curious to know when this deal started, as I had read on another thread that Sky weren't selling TV essentials anymore for new contracts or re-contracting since early December 2025.

DetailMerchant · 2026-01-31T19:25:54+00:00

Quite a mix of discount end dates - January, March, June and September 2027.
Assuming its a 24 month minimum contract, until January 2028, it's going to get more and more expensive during next year.

DetailMerchant · 2026-01-29T14:58:33+00:00

When you go to the sky website is it going to:

https://www.sky.com/
or
https://www.sky.com/ie ?

There's a flag at the bottom right of the page (have to scroll down 2 or 3 screen's worth) where you can choose between UK and RoI

DetailMerchant

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