New Sky Talk Shield says no to nuisance callers: First of its kind, free call screening service to launch in June

Sky Talk Shield, a new call screening service that's free for Sky Talk customers, is set to crackdown on unwanted and nuisance phone calls by stopping cold callers in their tracks.

One in five households receive a nuisance call every day, with those aged over 55 receiving the highest number of unnecessary calls*. Sky Talk Shield gives users ultimate control over their landline, letting them choose to answer the calls they want and block the ones they don't before they are even connected.

It's the UK's only call screening service of its type that works on every handset in the home, and without the need for any extra kit. Once activated, Sky Talk Shield will either block robot callers automatically before the phone rings, or let users listen to who's on the line before they accept the call.

If it's a person calling, the phone will ring and users will hear a recorded message with the screened caller's name, so they know who it is. They then have the option to:

accept the call for one time only,

accept the call and add the caller to their personal Star List,

reject the call and add the number to a Block List,

send the call to their Sky voicemail (if they have it).

If a caller is added to the Block List then they'll never get through again, while callers on the Star List will always get through straight away. Users will be able to easily manage their Star and Block Lists via their home phone or My Sky.

Lyssa McGowan, Chief Commercial Officer, Sky UK commented:

Providing our customers with the very best experience across phone, broadband and TV is something that has always been extremely important for Sky.

The launch of Sky Talk Shield is another step in our commitment, offering a brilliantly simple and free service which hands power back to our customers, so they can stop the frustration and inconvenience caused by nuisance calls.

Sky Talk Shield will be available from 9th June, exclusively for new and existing Sky Talk customers with Sky Broadband and Line Rental at no extra cost.

Existing Sky Talk and Broadband customers can activate Talk Shield by logging on to their My Sky account with their Sky iD and selecting Broadband and Talk.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Sky

Nicole Estwick

Nicole.estwick@sky.uk

Notes to Editors

*One in five households receive one nuisance call every day with those aged over 55 receiving the highest number of unnecessary calls. (source: June 15 Primus Call Features Research)

Sky Talk Shield is free and exclusive to UK Sky Talk customers with Broadband and Line Rental in Sky Network Areas only.

The Sky Network Area covers 95% of UK households.

Sky Talk Shield is the only UK call screening service to identify callers before customers have to speak to them, that's free and works without the need for any additional hardware. Other call screening services that work without hardware require customers to speak to nuisance callers and block them retrospectively.

It will be available to new and existing customers from 9th June. A small number of customers may be given the option to sign-up from 31st May as part of a phased roll out.

New and existing customers with Sky Talk, Broadband and Line Rental will be required to opt in to receive Sky Talk Shield.

Customers will be able to manage their Star and Block Lists on Sky Talk Shield via their landline or on their My Sky account online.

About Sky

Sky is Europes leading entertainment company, serving 22 million customers across five countries - UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. The company has annual revenues of £12 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with annual programming spend of over £5 billion.

From exclusive partnerships with HBO and Showtime, to Sky's own original programming, Sky offers the best and broadest range of content along with the best viewing experience to suit each and every customer. Whether that's through the multi-award winning next generation box, Sky Q, or Sky's contract-free online streaming service, NOW TV, customers have access to the latest movies, drama, sports and kids entertainment wherever and whenever they like. This is all supported by Sky's best in class customer service.

Sky's success is not just based on what the company does but how it does it. Named as one of the Top 10 Green Companies in the World by Newsweek, one of the world's most recognised rankings of business's environmental performance, Sky ensures its responsible business strategy is embedded right across the group.

Sky has over 30,000 employees and is listed as one of The Times Top 50 employers for women. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

LINK:	https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/news-page/2017/new-sky-talk-shi...
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