Sky to hike TV and broadband prices by 8.1% - adding extra £67 a year to bills

Millions of Sky broadband and TV customers will see their bills increase in weeks, the telecoms firm has announced.

Sky has confirmed it is hiking its prices by 8.1% from April, adding an average of £67.20 a year to bills.

The firm has only provided the average price rise which means some customers could end up seeing a bigger or smaller increase. The exact amount bills will rise depends on what customers are currently paying.

Sky said an 8.1% increase would add £5.60 to the average monthly bill, which amounts to £67.20 extra over the course of a year. Customers will start to be notified of the upcoming price hike from 16 February, with the changes due to take effect from 1 April.

The price increase will affect most Sky broadband and TV customers, including those with bundled packages and customers with just the one product, such as broadband. The changes will not affect Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers who signed up on or after 18 October 2022. Those who took out a rolling monthly plan before this date will see bills rise.

Customers who are signed up to a Sky social tariff, such as its ‘Broadband Basics’ plan, which offers cheaper rates for people on Universal Credit and other benefits, will also not be affected by the price increase.

A Sky spokesperson said: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We have tried to minimise the impact to customers with an average price increase across all our broadband and TV customers of 8.1%, which is below levels of inflation again this year.

“Competitors’ average increase over the last two years has been nearly double Sky’s average increase over the same period.”

Customers who are unhappy with the price hikes and are outside of their contract will be able to leave their Sky deal without paying an exit fee. Sky broadband and home phone customers who are in contract can also leave penalty-free within 30 days of being told about the price increases.

If you are tied into a Sky TV contract, you will not be able to leave without paying an exit fee, but could try and strike a better deal by haggling.

The latest increases come after Sky announced last month that Sky Mobile customers who are out of contract will see price rises of 9% on average this month. It marks the first time in five years the provider has raised prices on any of its mobile plans and the rise follows the current rate of inflation, which is currently 10.7%.

The hike will come into effect from 14 February and Sky said the first payments will be taken on 17 February. If your payment date is before 17 February, the increase will show on your next bill.

Only customers who are no longer in a contract on 14 February, and on certain tariffs, will see their price go up. If your contract ends after 14 February 2023, the price of your plan will not increase. Sky says this is in line with its promise of no mid-contract mobile prices.

A Sky Mobile spokesperson said: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We try to provide our customers with as much value as possible which is why our data plans have not increased in price for five years.

"However due to increased cost pressures, the majority of our mobile tariffs are increasing by £1, with the average percentage increase being below levels of inflation."

Any customers who are unhappy with the rise in the bill can leave penalty-free anytime. Customers can also haggle with Sky for a better deal and it is always advised to shop around to find the cheapest deal.