Sky TV: will customers be charged to skip adverts, how much will they have to pay each month under changes?

Some Sky TV customers will be charged an additional £5 a month for skipping adverts and sponsored messages shown on channels such as ITV, and Channel 4.

The TV giant first confirmed this change last year, and the update arrived for some TVs on 29 November 2022. However, it is not going to affect everyone.

The update does not affect anyone with Sky Q. It also does not affect anyone who has recently purchased Sky’s Glass TV for 18 months - for the duration of the free trial. However, for anyone who has purchased Sky Glass or the new Stream box from 29 November, they will need to add the "Ad Skipping add on pack".

Can you still pause and fast forward without the ad skipping pack?

All customers, both with and without the ‘Ad Skipping’ pack, will still be able to pause a live show and fast forward during ad breaks until they reach the live stream again.

Explaining the new feature, a Sky spokesperson said: "With the Ad Skipping add on, you’ll be able to fast forward through adverts when using live pause, restart, playlist or Sky On Demand. You can also fast forward adverts from within ITVX, STV Player and All4 TV apps.

"The Ad Skipping Add On doesn’t mean that you won’t see any adverts. It allows the ability to fast forward through the ads using the relevant remote control buttons and on screen menu for what you’re watching. The Ad Skipping Add On doesn’t include other apps, like YouTube or Spotify."

However, Sky is not the only company to charge to skip ads. All4 already charge £3.99 per month if users want to skip ads and the fee for ITVX is £5.99.