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BEST EVER broadband? Oh no you DIDN'T, Sky – ad watchdog

Rival BT moaned that claim was misleading

The telecoms giant formerly known as BSkyB has been ordered to remove a "best ever" broadband ad after rival BT claimed it was "misleading".

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the context of Sky's "BEST EVER broadband offer" in July had not been substantiated and was likely to mislead.

Last week BSkyB ditched the words "British and Broadcasting" from its name, after completing its takeover of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland.

The ASA said in a statement: "We understood that a previous ad from Sky stated 'Our BEST EVER broadband offer' with the headline '£100 reward when you join Sky TV online' whereas the current ad offered a £50 reward.

"We considered that consumers would infer that the reward, as an incentive to take up the package, was part of the offer and overall package."

Gavin Patterson, BT chief executive, has previously accused Sky of "buying" customers with its special offers.

He told The Telegraph last month: "If you look at the cost of Sky’s package in Q2 versus Q1 they halved the price and threw in a Samsung Galaxy tablet.

“It is chasing volume and we’ve said, 'look, we will be competitive but we’re not going to chase volume for the sake of it. We’re going to be disciplined about it'.”

The ad in July stated "£50 reward when you join Sky TV with any Sky TV Bundles from £21.50 a month … Add Sky Sports for £24.50 a month and get free broadband … 2 YEARS FREE SKY BROADBAND … UNLIMITED". Text at the top right-hand corner stated "Our BEST EVER broadband offer".

Sky said that consumers would understand that the claim related only to Sky's broadband and not its TV or Talk offers. ®

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