Sky bills hike will see bills rise by up to £72 per year

Millions of Sky customers will see bills increase by up to £6 a month – equivalent to £72 a year.

While the rises are capped at a £6 a month – a hike that will hit 8 per cent of customers – the average increase comes in at around £3 per month, or £36 a year. 

Sky Broadband Essential customers will see the biggest increase, with prices going up more than 13 per cent from £22 a month to £25. 

Changes to TV and broadband prices will bite from 1 April, while home phone prices will change for existing customers on 1 May.

The increases are coming at a time when more households are reliant on technology than ever before, due to the current national lockdown.  

However, how much Sky customers will see their bills go by up will depend on their plan.

Aside from Sky Broadband Essential increasing £3 to £25, Sky Broadband Superfast will also increase £1 to £28.

BT Sport will increase £2 to £27 – a rise of 8 per cent – whilst Sky Ultimate, the firms Netflix add on service, will increase £1 to £5.

Sky Signature, the TV package that includes all the channels you would get on the Entertainment package as well as Sky Box Sets, will increase £1 to £26.

Multiscreen, where customers can watch different Sky channels on different TVs at the same time, will increase £1 to £15.

Meanwhile, Sky HD will increase by £1 to £7 – an rise of 16.6 per cent.

Sky phone customers on Sky Talk Anytime Extra and Talk International Extra will see their bills increase by £2 per month. However, Talk Evening and Weekends Extra is unchanged.

Sky Cinema and Sky Kids will not be increasing and those in contract Sky Sports customers will also not see a rise.

A Sky spokesperson said: ‘We appreciate the importance of keeping our customers informed, connected and entertained.

‘We know price increases are never welcome and we try to keep prices down whilst still delivering the content our customers love, the flexibility to choose the package that suits them and with leading customer service.’

If you are one of the customers affected, you will be notified of the increase by email or post between February 17 and March 27.

Can you leave Sky penalty free? 

If customers want to get in touch with Sky to discuss their bill, the firm said they should wait until they have received their notification.

Nick Baker, broadband expert at Uswitch, said: ‘Almost one million Sky subscribers could see their annual bill go up by as much as £72 at a time when many household budgets are already stretched to the limit.

‘Price rises have become an unwelcome spring tradition, and this hike lands before the ink is barely dry on both Virgin Media and BT’s recent increases.

‘Broadband customers who are still in the minimum term of their contract can leave penalty-free if they act within 30 days of receiving their notification.

‘If you decide you want to change your broadband provider, run a quick online comparison to see what other deals are available. 

‘It’s also worth considering NOW TV packages if you want to continue enjoying Sky TV without the commitment of a long contract.’

Customers are encouraged to use price comparison sites to see if they could save money on their broadband, TV and phone deals.

Those who don’t want to switch providers can also get in touch with Sky to see if they can change their services and reduce their monthly bill.

Virgin Media also announced earlier this year that millions of its customers will see a price hike of up to £54 a year.

Most of the company’s UK cable customers will receive an increase of between £2.50 and £4.50 per month with an average increase of £3.63 a month, equivalent to four per cent.

The change will be effective from March 1 with broadband, TV and fixed line phone customers seeing changes in their bill that month.

This is Money contacted BT, TalkTalk and Plusnet to see if they are also looking to increase their bills but as yet, have not had a reply.