New Sky Boxes a Step Closer

Sky subscribers who wish to migrate to the new Sky box will have the choice of paying $10 a month to rent it or a one-off $200 fee.

Sky today announced customer trials have started of the “transformative” device and the Sky Pod streamer that were meant to be in subscribers’ homes mid-2022 before this was amended to another deadline — a Q4 rollout — that also wasn’t met.

Not surprisingly, Sky isn’t committing to a new deadline for installation but says the voluntary triallists will be testing the box over January.

“We will be sending special offers, including on pricing, to our most loyal customers first before making the new Sky box available to new customers,” a Sky spokesperson says.

“We will be offering two payment options for customers to access Sky services via the new Sky box.

“The first option is a one-off fee of $200. However, our most loyal customers will receive special offers on this.

“Our second option will be a $10 monthly fee for as long as customers subscribe to Sky services.

“We are also prioritising our Vodafone TV customers, who are needing to make the transition to Sky products before that service closes.”

Unlike previous boxes, the latest version will not only combine satellite, streaming and on-demand content but also will be more durable and easy enough to install that subscribers should be able to do it themselves.

“The new Sky box can be self-installed, and we are encouraging customers to do so by following an easy-to-follow set up guide, ” the spokesperson says.

“And yes, with the new Sky box we expect a lower lever of failure rate over time due to the significant hardware upgrade.”

Here’s today’s media release about about the belated customer trials:

New Sky Box and Sky Pod: Customer trial commences

Sky is pleased to confirm that customer trials have commenced on the new Sky Box and Sky Pod.

A range of customers from the Sky Nation panel have volunteered to be triallists and to be the first to experience the exciting new Sky technology over January.

The new Sky Box is the most transformative product we’ve delivered for our customers in some years. As a ‘hybrid’ box, it offers the best of Sky satellite, streaming, and on demand.  Customers can access Sky, free-to-air channels and their favourite Apps – all in one place.

The Sky Pod has been specially designed for those customers who are happy to rely on internet-only delivery (and can’t or don’t wish to have a satellite dish on their home).  It’s an ideal solution for customers who have accessed Sky through the soon-to-close Vodafone TV, and some of our triallists are VTV customers.

Today is an important milestone. We are delighted to be sharing these transformational new products with our customer triallists and look forward to hearing their feedback. We also look forward to offering the new Sky Box and Sky Pod more widely in the coming weeks.