Sky Sports Viewers Hit with BT Vision Problems
BT has apologized to subscribers that were left unable to view Sky Sports channels due to technical problems with the new service during its first week of launch - Sky Sports 1 and 2 were made available on the BT Vision platform as of August 1. This comes after customers immediately flooded the telecoms giant’s forums, complaining about freezing pictures and other problems.
BT confirmed that hundreds of customers experienced the technical glitch with Sky Sports. However, they said that the issue has since been resolved, and they will compensate the affected subscribers.
A spokesman for the company said that it was a technical fault with the viewing card, which also affected Top Up TV but was resolved quickly. A small amount of people complained, but new cards weren’t sent since they were able to fix the issues overnight, he explained. Those affected will be given a free month rental, which is worth £6.99-£11.99 depending on their package, he continued, adding that they apologize for the inconvenience.
These technical issues are very embarrassing for BT, as they have been very vocal about offering Sky Sports packages at more value to rival Sky’s own service. They are able to offer the channels under reduced wholesale prices, a model that was introduced by regulator Ofcom in March and made effective in April.
However, after announcing the pricing, Sky immediately increased their subscriber prices, which also increased the wholesale cost. This meant that BT is still more attractive to subscribers due to the lower price, but the company isn’t making a profit from it.