Sky’s monthly rates for selected TV channels will be going up in September – up to 11 per cent in the case of Sky Sports.
While Sky’s Original Bundle – the entry level deal that gets you Sky 1, Sky Atlantic and over 30 channels – will remain at £21.50/month, existing sports, movies and other TV customers will all have to pay 50p, £1 or £2.50 more each month.
As Sky Sports can’t be taken on its own, the total price rise, if you were taking it with the Original Bundle, works out at a 5.4 per cent rise.
If you were taking Sky Sports out with The Variety Bundle – which is going up by £1 – then you’re paying 5.8 per cent rise.
Existing Sky customers are currently being contacted by letter about the price changes. While they won’t be applied until September 1, as of now any new customers signing up for Sky’s TV packages will be charged the new prices.
If you’ve not got a letter yet or you’re thinking about signing up, we’ve got everything you need to know covered.
- How will this affect Sky TV customers?
- How will this affect Virgin TV customers?
- How will this affect TalkTalk TV customers?
- How will this affect BT TV customers?
- Why is Sky putting up its prices?
How will this affect Sky TV customers?
The Variety Bundle of channels will be going up from £27/month to £28/month.
The home of kids channels like Cartoon Network and documentary channels including National Geographic and Discovery Channel will be increasing for existing customers by £1 from September 1.
The bigger Family Bundle pack – which gives you over 50 HD channels – will also be increasing by £1 – up to £33/month from £32/month.
At the time of writing, the first six months of all Sky TV bundles are discounted for new customers ordering online. The Original Bundle costs £10.75/month, Variety costs £17.25/month and the Family bundle costs £22.25.
After these six months are up, the bundles will cost £21.50/month, £28/month and £33/month respectively.
Customers buying over the phone or through other channels can still benefit from the older prices until September 1. Doing so will also see you benefit from a 60 day price guarantee. This means even if you were to order at the end of August, you’d be protected from any rises for 60 days.
Sky Sports will be going up to £24.50/month, an increase of £2.50 up from £22/month.
Sky Movies is also increasing to £16.50/month – a 50p increase and the first price rise in six years.
Sky Broadband and line rental prices are not changing.
How will this affect Virgin TV customers?
The Sky Sports Collection – Sky Sports 1-5 and Sky Sports F1 – will be going up from £27.25 to £29.25 – an increase of £2.
Virgin Media has also launched a Season Ticket deal which sees you getting the same channels for £150 – equivalent to £15/month for ten months, except that you’ll have to pay for everything up front in one lump sum.
The Sky Sports and Movies Collection – currently £34.25 – will also be going up by £2, from £34.25 for £36.25.
How will this affect TalkTalk TV customers?
You can get Sky channels including Sky 1 and Sky Living as part of the Plus TV for £18.50/month with TalkTalk TV and sign up for Sky Sports and Sky Movies for £30/month £15/month respectively.
TalkTalk has yet to announce if there are to be any price changes to Sky bundles on TalkTalk TV.
How will this affect BT TV customers?
Similarly, BT has yet to comment on how price changes will affect BT TV customers who are getting Sky Sports 1 and 2 and Sky Movies on their BT TV subscription.
Why is Sky putting up its prices?
Sky is increasing the costs of its services to pay for things like acquiring rights to Premier League games for the 2014/15 season, the continued rollout of Sky Go across as many Android devices as possible, launching new channels like Sky Sports 5 and ITV Encore and renewing deals with the likes of HBO to bring shows like Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Girls and Silicon Valley, which starts this week.
More than 16 million people tuned into the Ashes last year with the Ashes Event Centre iPad app and site being accessed over 600,000 times.
On top of that, Sky is helping to shape the future of TV – it’s filming football matches in 4K Ultra HD and sharing its findings with the DTG’s UK UHD Forum. Sky TV is a premium subscription service and premium costs money.
A Sky spokesperson said: “We’re investing record amounts to bring our customers even more unmissable TV at home, on demand and on the go. We work hard to keep any increases to a minimum.”
Sky’s spokesperson added that Sky Sports customers can currently sign up for two years of free Sky Unlimited broadband, a saving of £180.
If you want faster fibre-based broadband instead of old-school copper ADSL, then you can get Sky Fibre Unlimited – normally £20/month – for £10/month for the first year instead.
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