Sky to hike prices of NOW TV streaming service for thousands of customers

Sky is hiking the price of its NOW TV streaming service for thousands of customers later this month.

The increase will apply to those who have a NOW Sports Month Membership, which allows users to stream all 11 Sky Sports channels in premium High Definition (HD).

Currently a standard Sports Membership costs £33.99, but from next month this will rise to £34.99 per month.

Sky also confirmed that any customers with the NOW Boost option enabled will have to start paying an extra £1 on their bills.

Boost is an optional extra and offers advert-free viewing, full HD quality and improved audio and a Sports Membership plan includes full access to channels including Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Formula 1, Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event.  The price of this service is rising from £5 to £6 per month.

The changes mean that any customers who subscribe to both face a £2 rise in total every month - or £24 over the course of a year.

The price rise will take effect from 28 February. Members who are currently subscribed under an existing offer won’t see their bills go up until it comes to an end.

A spokesperson, for NOW, said: "We know price rises are never welcome, which is why the price of our Sports Month Membership has not increased in the past six years.

"However, like many businesses in the UK, we are facing increased costs across the board. Therefore, we have made the decision to increase the price of our Sports Month Membership by £1 per month, which is below inflation levels."

Customers looking to save money on their subscription could cancel their Boost add-on, meaning they will only see a £1 increase to their bill - but they will lose out on the added features.

Sports fans could also convert their memberships to a "Sports Day Membership" which costs £11.99 for a day and could be a good alternative for a particular sporting event. However, it may be more expensive, depending on how many sporting events you want to watch.

How to cancel NOW

You can cancel NOW at any time and there is no fee to leave. Customers just need to log into their NOW account online and then click the My Account button which can be found in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

A drop-down menu should appear. From here, click on the Passes and Vouchers option in the list. Select the option you wish to unsubscribe from and press the Cancel Pass button.

Customers will be asked for a reason for the cancellation. A confirmation message will then appear on the screen to confirm the cancellations and customers will also be informed via email.