Bye bye My Sky
Content and the 'new improved' My Sky New Zealand box sealed the deal
I've dumped Sky TV NZ after being a long-term customer of their My Sky service. I came to the realization that I was only using Sky for Formula 1, and the My Sky to record content that is now available any time on streaming services.
'New Improved' My Sky...
I've had a form of My Sky, combination of satellite receiver and hardware recorder, since Sky first offered it decades ago. In early 2025 they offered a free upgrade to a new version of the My Sky hardware, something they'd previously charged a one-off upgrade fee for!
The old 'black box' (because it was) My Sky hardware was fine but being phased out so I accepted the 'upgrade'. While the new box offered much more storage (1TB, up from 500GB) and more multi-channel with 5 simultaneous (vs 3) recording + 1 channel for watching neither had been limitations for my use.
The new box promised to 'transform the viewing experience' but proved frustrating in a number of ways:
On, off, who knows, it decides
It may seem trivial but one of the annoyances is the Sky Now box's obscure indication of power status. It is always powered, part of the case glows blue whenever recording, but Operation/Sleep is indicated with a small LED that is White or Magenta. Neither of those mean on/off intuitively, to me at least, but White is on, and Magenta is Sleep (standby mode).
Wakey Wakey?
If unused for a while it goes to sleep irrespective of settings like Energy Saver being set to 'Never'. That means when you do use it—especially after a day or two—there is a sometimes-lengthy boot up while it awakes from slumber.
Stuff I've already got, again
My Sky wants to be your media hub and offers streaming apps (Netflix etc) that I already watch direct from the TV. I don't want to manage another device, another UI, especially as it doesn't perform as well, so all that is of zero value to me.
Slow
The whole My Sky UI is laggy, sometimes painfully slow to respond. I suspect in part this is related to my intermittent use of it, but loading and navigating the UI is clunky irrespective. What I find confusing is it runs on Android TV (currently 11), and my Sony Bravia, on Android TV (currently 12), on the same Wifi network is fine.
The other Sky content
I just wasn't watching anything other than Sports, and then mainly Formula 1. The 'Starter Package' is mostly free to air mirrors or secondary channels I never watched. Back in the day Discovery used to be good for documentaries but it's all reality style trash or fake documentaries about never finding Yeti..
I have a subscription to DocPlay, Nebula (recommend both, superb content) & YouTube Premium (to make it add free but still support creators there) which covers my need for non-mainstream factual content.
'Sky Entertainment' didn't offer much more, seems odd News is in that bundle except maybe Fox 'News' because who knows what the hell that is?
I haven't used Sky Films or Premium Channels (like Rialto) for over a decade except when they had occasional 'Free' windows. That was one small concession Sky TV gave to existing customers, but they were brief and far between. I wonder if were related to some kind of network servicing when they couldn't control access anyway...
Getting to Sky Sport Now
Sky NZ's website, and the My Sky UI, allows you to easily add new services but has no way to remove them without calling. I think that is a disgusting way to treat existing customers, but an increasingly common 'lock-in' tactic.
I couldn't be bothered calling so submitted a message to support saying I wanted to cancel all my existing services, return My Sky hardware, and swap to Sky Sport Now streaming.
The next day, Sunday, that got a surprising response; that Sky Sport Now is a different platform, with no transfer capability, from Sky TV accounts:
We wanted to let you know that Sky Sport Now is a different platform from Sky TV Service, and they don't have a customer service phone number; however, you can contact them by:
- Sending an email
- Chat online with the customer services team using the chat button at the bottom right of the Sky Sport Now FAQ page.
- Message us on social media. Just be mindful, they're a small team, and don't have a full time social media manager, so if you need technical help or troubleshooting, we recommend the live chat service.
- Otherwise, you're welcome to join the conversation over on our Facebook page.
Additionally, you can keep the Sky TV service if you want.
I replied saying as account transfer was not possible, I wanted to cancel all Sky TV services, return my My Sky hardware, and would sign up for Sky Sport Now as a new customer.
Signing up to Sky Sport Now, a doddle
I signed up online, easy, installed phone and smart TV apps, easy, and watched a Grand Prix with no issues. The process was painless and the annual plan was less than 50% of my previous Sky TV plan. I still hadn't had a response to my 'cancellation email', but it was submitted over the weekend so put it down to that.
The parting insult
I've been a Sky customer since sometime in the mid-1990s, and My Sky (the hardware recorder) since maybe 2005. A few days after the email I had a call from Sky TV offering a significant discount to my current plan (but still not matching the 'Now' annual plan) which I found insulting. I think for a long-term customer to only be acknowledged when they cancel is damning, too little, too late.
Cancelling
I have the My Sky box until the end of the month (account billing determined that) and will get sent a courier pack to return it. I will not miss it at all.
Sky Sport Now
I stuck with Sky as I need to see Formula 1 and, despite their British bias, like the Sky U.K. feed we get via Sky NZ.
F1TV is an option in NZ but I will give Sky Sport Now a year to see how it goes. If only using it for F1, maybe next year will try the Formula 1 channel which is cheaper again.
