Some Sky TV users now have to pay £5 to skip adverts – are you affected?
Some Sky customers will find they now have to reach for their wallets if they want to skip endless adverts. The satellite TV company first confirmed this controversial change was coming late last year with the update finally hitting some TVs today, November 29. It basically means that an extra £5 per month will be added to bills when people want to wade through sponsored messages shown on channels such as ITV and Channel 4.
It is clearly not going to please customers who are affected by the bill increase, but not everyone will be affected by the costs. Firstly, if you have Sky Q in your home, you can breathe a sigh of relief as you will still be able to skip adverts without fear of extra charges, as the update does not affect this popular set-top box.
Anyone who has also recently bought Sky’s Glass TV is also protected against a bill for 18 months as things are free for the first period.
However, if you happen to buy a Sky Glass TV or the new Stream box after today, you’ll need to add the ‘Ad Skipping Add On Pack’ to your subscription if you want to skip those adverts.
Those who don’t pay for the fee have to see all the sponsored messages when they look at the playlist menu or on the catch-up apps like ITVX.
It’s worth noting that all customers, both with and without the “Ad Shopping” package, will still be able to pause a live broadcast and fast-forward through the ad breaks until they reach the live broadcast again.
Explaining more about the feature, Sky said: “With the Ad Skipping Add On, you’ll be able to fast forward through adverts when using Live Pause, Restart, Playlist or Sky On Demand. You can also fast forward adverts from ITVX, STV Player and All4 TV – apps.
“The Ad-hopping add-on doesn’t mean you won’t see any ads. It allows you to fast-forward through the ads using the relevant remote control buttons and on-screen menu for what you’re watching. The Ad-hopping add-on On doesn’t include other apps, like YouTube or Spotify.”
It’s not just Sky that charges users to skip adverts. All4 costs £3.99 per month and ITVX now charges £5.99, so this isn’t an exclusive extra for those with Sky.
While this update may not please some Sky Glass and Sky Stream users, there is some better news.
Sky has just released a major free upgrade to these devices that includes improvements to the playlists feature and easier ways to find your favorite content.
Next month will also see the introduction of personalized content for each member of the family and on-screen local dimming which should help boost image quality.
You can find out all the details about the upgrade here.
