Sky is doubling down on its Sky Q box, announcing a new pricing structure to lure over both old and new customers and a simpler naming system.
Sources at the company have suggested there's internal delight over the sales of and reaction to Q. That's despite some clear stability issues with the box, and the failure to so far roll out key features announced at launch, like the power line connectivity (ETA 2016) and the phone app (ETA the next few weeks).
The upshot is that Sky is now keen to make the Q box its primary offering, ahead of the trusted old Sky+ boxes that have served as a bedrock to the company's growth in recent years, and which will continue to be offered.
Same box, new name
Originally Sky Q subscribers were given the basic option or the Silver option – the latter boasting a 2TB drive and 4K functionality. These have now been renamed to simply the Sky Q 1TB box and the Sky Q 2TB, which is much less interesting but probably easier to understand.
For new customers, The Sky Q 1TB will be included for no extra cost with all TV bundles including the £20 'original' bottom tier, but a one-off installation fee of £15 will be charged, or £60 for the 2TB box.
For current subscribers, the same installation fees apply if you want to upgrade, and you can take advantage of a new Sky Q Multiscreen offering for £12 a month more (or nothing extra if you're a Sky+ multiscreen subscriber).
Our advice for current subscribers, as ever, is to take your time and look carefully at the options available to you, and what you want from your package. The 2TB box is certainly worth considering if you have, or plan to buy, a 4K television for instance.
In truth, as our Sky Q review points out, it's a lovely future-thinking box that's likely to get better and better in the coming months.
