ASA Adjudication on British Sky Broadcasting Ltd

Ad

A magazine ad and direct mailing for Sky:

a. Text on the cover of Sky’s “skymag” magazine stated “FREE SKY+HD BOX turn over to find out more …”. Text overleaf stated “CLAIM YOUR FREE SKY+HD BOX … As a thank you for being a Sky Movies customer, we’re giving you a free Sky+HD box so you and your family can enjoy Sky Movies in stunning high definition this Christmas season. All you need to do is take the HD Pack (£10 extra a month) and stay with Sky Movies for another year. Standard set-up of your Sky+HD box is just £30 …”;

b. The direct mailing was headed “Fall in love with movies in high definition this Christmas Free Sky+HD box offer … we’d like to give you a free Sky+HD box … simply join Sky+HD and add Sky Movies for a year (plus £30 standard set-up fee) and a free Sky+HD box is all yours …”. Small print at the foot of the page stated “Your first Sky+HD box only. Pre-registration required. Sky+HD with Sky Movies from £36 a month (direct debit) for 12 months ...”.

Issue

Two complainants challenged whether the use of "free" to describe the Sky+HD box offered in ads (a) and (b) was appropriate, because it was necessary to commit to a subscription upgrade at a cost of £10 per month for 12 months and pay a set-up fee of £30 to take advantage of it.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

British Sky Broadcasting Ltd (Sky) explained that the Sky+HD Box offer was available to new and existing Sky customers and, under the terms of the offer, they were entitled to a free Sky+HD Box provided they subscribed to Sky Movies with the HD pack for 12 months and paid £30 for standard set-up. They said if a customer did not satisfy all conditions of the offer, they could buy a Sky+HD box at a cost of between £49 and £292.64, plus set-up fees, depending on circumstances.

Sky believed the use of free was appropriate to describe the box as part of the offer because the items being paid for, Sky+HD and set-up services, were normally sold without the free element and had established prices, which were not inflated, nor their quality reduced, to cover the cost of the free Sky+HD box. They said the Sky+HD box was, therefore, genuinely separate from, and additional to, the paid-for items. They pointed out that, in addition, the usual costs of the HD pack and standard set-up were made clear in the ads and consumers would have been aware that, if they did not comply with the terms of the offer they would not receive a free Sky+HD box.

Sky explained that their set-up services were available to customers for the same cost outside of the terms of the offer and without the free element and added that they regularly sold set-up services directly to Sky TV customers on a stand alone basis without any equipment (if, for example, a customer had obtained a Sky box second hand or from an independent retailer). They also explained that the HD package was available to Sky TV customers, regardless of the amount paid for a Sky+HD box or how it was obtained and confirmed that they had sold a number of HD packs to customers who did not simultaneously take a Sky+HD box at the same time during the offer period.

Sky believed the requirement to subscribe to a HD pack to qualify for the free offer was prominent in both ads and the full costs involved were made clear.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA understood that Sky offered a free Sky+HD box to consumers who subscribed to Sky+HD services and met the qualifying conditions of the promotion, whether they were new or existing Sky customers. We acknowledged that the complainants questioned whether the box was free, because there were charges and an obligatory 12-month subscription involved in taking up the offer.

We understood that it was necessary to have a Sky+HD box to access Sky+HD services generally. However, we also understood that it was not compulsory for customers who wished to take a Sky+HD subscription to purchase a Sky+HD box from Sky at the same time the subscription service was taken. We noted Skys Sky+HD subscription service had a genuine stand-alone price and that its quality, composition and price was unaffected, whether the free box was taken or not. We noted, under normal circumstances, customers who chose to subscribe to Sky+HD services, who did not already have a Sky+HD box, were required to purchase one, either from Sky at a cost of between £49 and £292.64, depending on whether a subscription was taken or free to air HD services were preferred, or from an independent retailer.

We noted concern had also been raised that it was necessary to pay a set-up fee under the terms of the offer. We understood, however, that Skys set-up service and its established charges were available to all customers irrespective of any particular Sky subscription or the free box offer and that the charge for set-up was unaffected whether or not customers chose to take advantage of the free box as part of the promotion.

While we acknowledged that the free offer was not without conditions and were concerned that text such as "As a thank you for being a Sky Movies customer, were giving you a free Sky+HD box" was likely, in isolation, to give the impression that the free box was a gift from Sky without obligation, we concluded that the use of free to describe the Sky+HD box, under the circumstances outlined in the terms and conditions of the offer and as stated in the ad, was unlikely to mislead.

We investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness), 27.4 (Sales promotion rules) and 32.5 (Free offers and free trials) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)