Many well-known streaming providers are currently planning or have already introduced advertising-financed subscriptions. Now the pay TV provider Sky is also positioning itself in this segment. He would like to start a new advertising subscription shortly. Its introduction will also change the existing Wow subscription for existing customers. TECHBOOK has the details.
In addition to its large term subscription with access to various television channels, Sky has also been offering a service with which users can stream films and series on demand since 2016. The offer, which can be canceled monthly, was previously called Sky Ticket, but became Sky Wow in June 2022. Customers can choose between a film package, a package with films and series and a sports package. But now – a year after the start of Wow – the provider is announcing the next big change. Sky would like to launch its first Wow subscription with advertising soon. In this context, Sky Wow will become Wow Premium.
Wow in the future also as an advertising-financed, cheaper subscription
So far, Sky Wow has been available for monthly prices starting at EUR 9.99. It becomes cheaper if customers opt for a 6-month package. But the new subscription with advertising should make Wow even cheaper, since Sky shows short advertising clips before the start of series and films. Another difference between Wow with Ads and Wow Premium is the quality of the stream. While users stream in Full HD in the previous offer, the quality in the upcoming advertising-financed subscription will be reduced to HD, i.e. 720p. Customers also have to do without Dolby Digital 5.1 and instead hear the sound in stereo. On 4K TVs with a good sound system, this reduction in the playback quality of picture and sound sometimes means significant losses.
Overall, Sky Wow gets by with advertising without the premium features of the ad-free offer. This probably also means that the subscription can only be used by one user. However, Sky is not giving any further details about the new Wow subscription or the type of advertising or its length at the moment. The price of the new subscription is also only indicated. An information page states that customers can upgrade to the advertising-financed subscription for 5 euros per month and thus switch to the advertising-free offer. There is a price difference of 5 euros between the Wow subscriptions with and without advertising. That would correspond to monthly costs of 4.99 euros for the series package, exactly the price that Netflix also charges for its advertising-financed offer. The prerequisite for this, however, is that Sky does not turn the price screw with the regular Wow subscription. There are signs of that.
With Wow Premium, Sky does not show any advertising
With the introduction of the advertising-financed offer, Sky is changing the name of its previous subscription to Wow Premium. This should not change, so that customers can continue to access all content and functions. Sky continues to offer Wow Premium with the packages series, series and films as well as live sports – all completely without advertising. With a subscription, the content can be accessed on up to two devices simultaneously in Full HD quality and Dolby Digital 5.1. So much for the well-known cornerstones.
We asked Sky for more details on the two subscription types. In response to our request, the pay-TV provider gave us the following statement:
With Wow, we are currently offering our customers a wide range of highly attractive sports and entertainment content. The monthly subscription variants Wow series, Wow films & series and Wow live sport can all be booked flexibly and can be canceled at any time without being tied to a contract.
Existing Wow customers will receive an automatic upgrade to Wow Premium in addition to their Wow subscription over the next few weeks in order to be able to continue to experience the best streaming offer. The subscription conditions of our existing customers remain unchanged.
Sky spokeswoman for TECHBOOK
Existing customers pay the same monthly fee as before even after switching to Wow Premium. However, Sky points out that the adjustment may result in an incorrect invoice display in the customer account. As a result, customers may not see the correct billing total until the next renewal date. However, the previous subscription price should be debited, according to Sky.
Also read: The current series and films on Sky and Wow
The strong focus on existing customers is striking in all of these explanations of the switch from Wow to Wow Premium. For example, the website says: “As an existing customer, you get all the benefits of Wow Premium from us at no additional cost, as long as you don’t cancel.” However, Sky does not mention new customers when we explicitly ask them, nor on the info page for the new offer . Also, which conditions apply after a termination and possible new booking of the offer remains unanswered. Does that mean that Sky will charge a higher monthly fee for new Wow Premium bookings in the future?
This has not yet been confirmed. Our contact person at Sky promised us more information after the launch of the new offers. It is unclear when this will take place. Since Sky itself speaks in its statement about writing to existing customers in the coming weeks and switching to the premium subscription, the start date doesn’t seem too far away.