I think the winning strategy here will be to do the right thing by all of their customers by pricing their products appropriately. Relying on a segment of your customer base to continue being gouged due to apathy or ignorance would further doom Sky from a brand perspective.
Sky TV is largely restricted in terms of how their channels are bundled, however the way these bundles are priced is completely in their control.
In addition to their ‘build your own’ packages they could create some pre-set bundles like Vodafone TV.
Have an Entertainment package (starter, entertainment, movies + SOHO) for $39. 99
Sport package (starter + Sport) for $39.99
Sport Plus (starter + Sport + SOHO) for $45
Premium (starter + entertainment + movies + SOHO + Sport) for $60
No My Sky fee, and you can still add specialty channels like Star Plus, Bein Sports etc on top.
Clearly, I have just made these numbers up and Sky would have to work out what pricing points are viable. But setting prices around these levels would help reverse the declining subscription numbers, and improve Brand Perception.
And we all have to accept that the $100M+ profit days for Sky are over. Profits will be smaller in the future, as ARPU shrinks and content costs increase.
Shrinking ARPU is just fine so long as it is due to Sky adjusting prices down and lifting subscriptions.
Not what we have seen recently which is prices increase and customers heading for the door in droves.