Confusion Surrounds Sky UK’s Position on End of Contract TV Notifications
Ofcom’s rules require that all “phone, broadband and pay-TV providers” must “warn customers when their current contract is ending, and what they could save by signing up to a new deal” (usually sent between 10-40 days before the end of your contract). But an ongoing legal challenge makes the situation for customers of Sky TV a bit more confusing.
The regulator’s End-of-Contract Notifications (ECN) system has been around since early 2020 and, while there are still some ISPs that don’t play by the rules (usually certain smaller players), most providers do follow the policy. The move helps to keep subscribers informed about the best deals available to them and also encourages switching, which usually leads to savings.
However, the situation for customers of Sky’s (Sky Broadband etc.) various pay-TV packages is a bit more complex, which is something that we only realised recently after some customers of their newer Sky Glass and Sky Stream TV services queried why they weren’t receiving ECNs. In response, Sky’s support team told some of those same users that they only issued end of contract notifications to their broadband and mobile services, which appears to contradict a 2022 ruling.
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Just to recap. Back in August 2022 Ofcom concluded a long-running investigation into Sky, which found that they had broken consumer protection rules by failing to send ECNs to their satellite-based Pay TV customers (here). Sky’s original argument against this, which the regulator rejected, was based on the fact that the 2003 Communications Act excluded “content services” from the ECN rules, which instead only apply to “electronic communications networks” (i.e. Sky argued that their satellite TV services were “content services“).
The above context is key because Ofcom have since informed ISPreview that, despite providing access to broadly the same services as their satellite-based products, Sky Stream and Sky Glass are currently classed by the regulator as over-the-top “content services” delivered through the internet, like Netflix, Disney+ etc. As above, content services are not regulated as communications services and thus fall outside the scope of Ofcom’s General Conditions. Ofcom informed us that the one exception to this is if they’re delivered as part of a bundle (e.g. alongside Sky Broadband), then ECNs should still apply.
So far, so confusing, and we’re not done yet. Remember that 2022 decision against Sky’s satellite TV service above? Sky promptly launched a legal challenge against that and, despite losing several attempts to overturn Ofcom’s ruling, the broadcasting giant recently filed another application for permission to appeal (again) with the Court of Appeal just before Christmas 2024.
The case reference for this is CA-2024-002837, and it is tentatively expected to be heard in court on 29th July 2025. As a result the situation around ECNs, as well as how some of Ofcom’s other associated rules may apply to Sky’s various different pay-TV platforms, remains confusing and potentially subject to change.
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A Sky spokesperson said:
“We’re committed to providing our customers with the best possible service across all our products and offer an extensive range of options to help them manage their Sky TV services and bills.
We do not believe that Sky’s pay-TV service is an electronic communication service under the definition in the Communications Act 2003 and continue to seek legal review to clarify what has been a long running, genuine difference of views on interpretation of the law.”
We can certainly understand Sky’s argument on the technical detail, but equally Ofcom have always stated that ECNs were intended to apply to Pay TV providers too and consumers rightly expect this to be the case. In the end, Sky does not come out of this smelling of roses and we’d like to see all of their pay-TV products applying Ofcom’s rules, but clearly there are still some areas of conflict.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Sky not doing the decent thing but trying to get away with anything they can
Make that Comcast trying to get away with whatever they can.
An American company wasting everybody’s time with a court case, who ever heard of such a thing?
No substitute for customers taking some personal responsibility and making sure they know when their contracts end and take appropriate action for themselves. Companies are always going to act in their own interests at the end of the day.
Absolutely, check the date , look at the “future bills” section when just about to go out of contract then ring them up and tell them your are not prepared to pay the hyper inflated price and listen to them offer the same deal as new customers (in my case a bit more off as well)
‘No substitute for customers taking some personal responsibility and making sure they know when their contracts end’
This. 100% this.
There is a substitute – the regulator has decided that providers should push notifications about end of contract to consumers, rather than leaving it to consumers to seek them out themselves. Sky must think this is a very effective regulatory action, otherwise they wouldn’t be putting so much effort in to appealing it.
Sky has never had its customers interests at heart, it has always been scummy when it comes to sales and people trying to cancel or being notified when their contracts end. They have been investigated multiple times over their reluctance to allow people to leave. So it’s no surprise they carry on breaking the rules with their new products.
And why can they appeal so much? Surely there must be a limit on how many times they can do that, they are wasting money on appeals that they’ll pass onto the customers in price increases.
They are loosing money as some people are turning to Fire TV, Fire TV Cube, Fire stick, Android TV and Android TV box to watch premiere league, on demand etc.. As Sky is expensive not affordable so watching it illegally I don’t blame them I can’t afford Sky
The only argument people should make in favour of piracy is “I want this and I don’t want to pay for it”. Everything else is weaselly post-hoc justification. Watching football and HBO shows isn’t a human right, skipping them won’t make you sick.
What line of work is your employer in? Would you defend people who can’t afford your services stealing from you instead? How do you think that might affect your job?
I’d like to add to “I want this and I don’t want to pay for it” by saying two things:
The thing I want to watch now means signing up to yet another streaming service – this gets old real fast
The thing I want to watch isn’t available officially on any of the streaming services
The latter is most noticeable with football and the 3PM broadcast blackout.
Gabe Newell has said for over 20 years that piracy normally is an issue with service delivery. You make it stupidly simple to use, reasonably priced, and piracy decreases a lot. Remember when Netflix used to be the king of streaming, virtually everything under 1 roof and about £10 each month?
Well let’s hope after Sky fail in their legal argument and I’m sure they will then I hope Ofcom not only tell Sky to pay back affected customers but also fine Sky the maximum amount for deliberately trying to fleece their loyal customers and showing contempt for the law but to be honest Ofcom will probably do absolutely nothing as normal
There is no confusion at Sky, just a deep rooted smugness and self importance that comes from being the dominate pay TV platform in the U.K. for decades.
It has always been thus and has continually shaped the distain they have shown to customers and partners throughout their existence. The demise of Sky cannot come soon enough.
Nowadays, Sky is just a brand owned by Comcast.
Let’s see how the court rules on this issue, but I can see it’s possible that the relevant law (Comms Act 2003) isn’t clear enough to support Ofcom’s desired interpretation.
Sky do what Sky want rather than what’s in their customer’s best interests. They’ve always acted this way, as have many other companies. However, i say Sky have got worse for this kind of behaviour since becoming part of Comcast, a company themselves who aren’t exactly known for being consumer friendly.
Take for example, Paramount Plus and the way that both companies blame each other for the service now including ads and being reduced to HD only for Sky customers. They both fob off the customer and neither bothered to tell customers this was happening.
This is my experience also.
Since Comcast the customer service has been shocking and trying to negotiate a deal is extremely difficult.
They now treat you as a number more than ever and will do everything they can to push you to the stream services.
I was caught by how bad they had become but once this contract is up I will be leaving, overpriced rubbish that is hot worth the money
I hope everyone is keeping an eye on their emails, as Sky has made some significant changes to their price increases this year!
Previously, Sky increased prices for Broadband and Talk in April, with a separate increase for TV in September. This year, they’ve combined everything into a single increase and have already started sending sneaky notifications (by email only, previously by letter) giving just 30 days to exit the contract. However, the price changes don’t take effect until May.
I only just found my email, which was sent in mid-February on a Saturday afternoon, feels like a sneaky way to make sure people miss it and run out of time to cancel!
The whole sky system is terrible, Ive had sky Q for 7 years, I recontracted back in September 24, I got discount on Ultimate TV pack with Cinema on 24 month contract for £60, now I see deals falling off in April and May making my bill £96.
I telephoned Sky yesterday to see why my offers were disappearing and I was pressed to sign up for broadband or a tablet, I told the lady are you not listening to me, I want to reduce my bill and find out why my offers were ending, I do not want to sign up for any new service, so I just put the phone down and hope to speak with an ENGLISH customer service agent today.
My Sky package has gone up 20% in 18 months, a high proportion of the channels are repeats and you have to pay extra for HD and UHD despite these being the norm these days. I have just moved my broadband from Sky to Vodafone and saved £13.50 a month for the same service and no increase until April 2026. When the Sky TV contract expires in July I plan to cancel sky altogether and just use Freeview, Netflix and Amazon (I already have an Amazon Prime account). That will save me nearly £100 a month too and I won’t have to pay £15 a month to watch on a TV in another room either. I’ve been with Sky for around 30 years, but now it’s just a rip-off !