Sky’s mobile, TV and broadband customers are bracing for price hikes of up to £43 a year, another blow for cash-strapped families.
Broadcaster Succession is applying an average price increase of £3.60 per month, with BT Sport and Sky Cinema packages increasing by £1 a piece to £28 and £12 respectively.
Most of Sky’s main services cost more, including its mobile business after opting not to waive European roaming charges after Brexit. Rival Virgin Media O2 will also start imposing previously announced price increases from April, which could drive up bills for O2 and Virgin Mobile by £48 a year. The 11.7pc increase is based on the retail price index inflation measure of 7.8pc, plus 3.9pc.
The higher prices come amid mounting cost of living pressure as families grapple with the prospect of higher bills for food and energy.
A Sky spokesperson said: “We know price increases are never welcome, so we aim to keep prices as low as possible whilst delivering the content customers love, the flexibility to choose the right package and our industry-leading customer service.”
The pay-TV giant will also increase Sky HD by £1 to £8; Sky Signature Entertainment Package from £1 to £27 and Sky Essential and Superfast Broadband from £2.50 each at £27.50 and £30.50 respectively.
Calls to landlines and mobiles will increase by 2p to 22p per minute, while the cost of using a Sky mobile service in Europe will be capped at £2 a day.
Changes to TV and broadband packages will come into effect from April 1, while increases to landlines and mobiles in the UK will follow on May 1.
Sky previously announced a price hike of up to £72 a year, going live from April 2021.
Ernest Doku, of price comparison website Uswitch.com, said: ‘These latest Sky hikes will affect almost a million subscribers, adding a reported average of £43 to their annual bill which is a burden unwanted at a time when households are feeling the pinch of rising bills across the board.
Commenting on the Virgin Media O2 price increase, he added: “The idea that Virgin Mobile and O2 customer bills will increase by 11.7% shows the absurdity of linking price increases to mid-contract to inflation.
“These mid-contract raises are written into client contracts, but no one could have guessed what their raise would be 12 months ago.”
An O2 spokesperson said: ‘For most customers the price increase only applies to the airtime portion of their bill and with our most popular rates costing from 33p per day for super-fast data with unlimited minutes and texts, our customers receive incredible value as well as additional benefits such as Priority.
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Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-02-16 19:52:58
