Yahoo Finance Sky to hike broadband and TV bills for millions of customers
Sky’s mobile, TV and broadband customers are bracing for price rises of up to £43 a year, in a further blow to cash-strapped families.
The Succession broadcaster is enforcing an average price increase of £3.60 per month, with BT Sport and Sky Cinema packages rising by £1 a piece to £28 and £12 respectively.
Most of Sky’s major services are costing more, including its mobile business after it opted not to waive European roaming charges post-Brexit. Rival Virgin Media O2 will also begin imposing previously announced price rises from April that could cause O2 and Virgin Mobile bills to jump by £48 a year. The 11.7pc increase is based on the Retail Price Index measure of inflation, which stands at 7.8pc, plus 3.9pc.
The higher prices come amid a growing costs of living squeeze as families grapple with the prospect of higher bills for food and energy.
A Sky spokesman said: “We know price increases are never welcome so we aim to keep prices as low as possible while still delivering the content customers love, the flexibility to choose the right package, and our leading customer service.”
The pay TV giant will also increase Sky HD by £1 to £8; Sky Signature entertainment package by £1 to £27 and both Sky broadband essential and superfast by £2.50 each respectively to £27.50 and £30.50.
Calls across landlines and mobile will rise by 2p to 22p per minute, while the cost of using a Sky mobile service in Europe will be capped at £2 daily.
Changes to TV and broadband packages will come into force from April 1, while increases to UK landlines and mobiles will follow on May 1.
Sky previously announced a price rise of up to £72 a year that came online from April 2021.
Ernest Doku, of the price comparison website Uswitch.com, said: “These latest rises from Sky will affect almost one million subscribers, adding a reported average of £43 to their annual bill, which is an unwanted burden during a time when households are feeling the pinch from bill hikes across the board.”
On Virgin Media O2’s price increase, he added: “The idea of both Virgin Mobile and O2 customers’ bills increasing by 11.7pc shows the absurdity of linking mid-contract price hikes to inflation.
“These mid-contract rises are written into customers’ contracts, but no one signing up for their deal 12 months ago could have guessed what their increase would be.”
An O2 spokesman said: “For most customers the price increase only applies to the airtime part of their bill and with our most popular tariffs costing from as little as 33p per day for superfast data with unlimited minutes and texts, our customers receive incredible value as well as extra perks such as Priority.”
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