Sky broadband and TV customers have been warned that millions are set to be hit with price hikes from April, according to MoneySavingExpert.com.
The website, founded by money expert Martin Lewis, announced the hike in its newsletter this week, as it said Sky customers could be charged up to £72 extra a year.
However, it said that those who affected may be able to leave the company penalty-free or haggle down their bill.
Both TV and broadband prices are set to rise for many new and existing Sky customers from 1 April.
Meanwhile, home phone prices will also increase for many new and existing customers from May 1.
Existing Sky customers will be notified if their bill is going up – with the exact increase sent by email or post between February 17 and March 27.
Sky says affected customers should wait until then to contact the company to discuss their options.
The changes to the bill depend on what Sky products you have, when you signed up and what deal you have with the company.
The average increase for the millions that will be affected is just over £3/month (£36/year).
Rises are capped at £6/month (£72/year), so even if you have many Sky products your overall bill won't rise higher than that. Sky says 8% of customers will be hit by the maximum £72/year price increase.
Customers that are within and outside their minimum contract term may both be affected by the changes.
However, price rises won't affect everyone on a specific package. Those who have special offer or discount will have to check if their deal is affected and by how much.
Customers should wait to find out the exact changes to their package, however Sky has given a general overview of the increases to MoneySavingExpert.com.
For example, the Sky Signature TV package will go up by £1/mth – to £26/mth if in contract, £31/mth if out of contract.
Meanwhile, the Sky Broadband Essential will go up by £3/mth – to £25/mth if in contract, £30/mth if out of contract.
Many will be happy to hear that several packages aren't changing though. These include Sky Cinema, Sky Kids and Sky Talk Evening and Weekends Extra. Sky Mobile customers also aren't affected by the price hikes either.
Average Sky price increases from April
- Sky Signature TV package – increase of £1/mth – to £26/mth if in contract, £31/mth if out of contract
- Sky Broadband Essential – increase of £3/mth – to £25/mth if in contract, £30/mth if out of contract
- Sky Broadband Superfast – increase of £1/mth – to £28/mth if in contract, £33/mth if out of contract
- Multiscreen – increase of £1/mth, to £15/mth
- Sky HD – increase of £1/mth, to £7/mth
- BT Sport – increase of £2/mth, to £27/mth. (This only affects Sky customers who pay for BT Sport via Sky though.
- Sky Talk Anytime Extra – increase of £2/mth, to £12/mth
- Sky Talk International Extra – increase of £2/mth, to £14/mth
- Sky Ultimate (TV add-on which gives Netflix) – increase of £1/mth, to £5/mth – but only for those in-contract
- Sky Sports increase of £2/mth, to £32/mth (but only for those out-of-contract)
The increases come after many Sky broadband, TV and home phone customers faced price rises in April 2020. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of users whose prices didn't rise then saw the increase applied from August 2020 instead.
Those who aren't happy with the price increase may be able to exit their contract with Sky penalty-free.
However, if you want to stay with Sky despite the price increases, it's worth trying to haggle a better deal.
A Sky spokesperson said: "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."
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