In a few weeks, Sky is increasing the prices of its packages, following trends set by many other providers.
This change affects anyone with a TV or broadband contract with Sky, including Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers.
If you’re looking to save money this year, there’s a way to avoid this price hike. Here’s what you need to know.
How much is my Sky contract going up by?
Sky has confirmed that the price increase across both broadband and TV will be an additional 6.2% .
The costs will vary depending on what contract you’re on, and Sky should have contacted you – we’ve seen that customers have been receiving emails from Sky over the last few days.
However, we can use estimates based on current bills to give you an idea of what to expect.
6.2% is the equivalent of an extra 62p for every £10. Put simply, you’ll pay more if you’re on a more expensive contract.
Here’s an example of the average cost increases, based on estimations from Uswitch .
- £20 per month bill – Increasing by £1.24 per month/£14.88 per year
- £30 per month bill – Increasing by £1.86 per month/£22.32 per year
- £40 per month bill – Increasing by £2.48 per month/£29.76 per year
- £50 per month bill – Increasing by £3.10 per month/£37.20 per year
- £75 per month bill – Increasing by £4.65 per month/£55.80 per year
If you’re identified as a ‘ vulnerable customer ‘ by Sky, or if you’re on the Broadband Basics social tariff, then you won’t be affected by this price increase.
It also won’t affect anyone on the new Essential TV plan, according to Cordbusters .
Chris Martin / Foundry
Avoid the Sky price hike by leaving penalty-free
The first thing to be aware of is that once Sky contacts you about your contract price hike, you will have the option to leave penalty-free and look at what rivals have to offer.
However, this only applies to Sky Broadband, Sky Home Phone customers, and Sky TV customers who purchased a Broadband package at the same time .
If that’s you, contact Sky directly on the website, by calling them on 0330 041 3875, or by writing to them via post. You must do this within 30 days of being contacted to be eligible .
If you’re on a rolling contract, such as Sky Stream ‘s 30-day flexible option, you also have the option to cancel at any time. You can still get Sky content by opting for the flexible monthly streaming service, Now .
If you only pay for Sky TV and are still under contract, it’s more complicated. You’ll have to get in touch with the retention team to discuss your options – this route may also be good for Broadband customers who don’t want to leave altogether.
Avoid the Sky price hike by re-negotiating your plan
If you’re mid-contract with TV plans such as Sky Glass , Sky Q or a long-term Sky Stream plan, Sky can still charge you a penalty for leaving mid-contract. However, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck.
According to Money Saving Expert , if you’re within your minimum term in the contract you can contact Sky to try and haggle your prices.
One way of doing this would be by downgrading your package to pay less . So, you may wish to drop your cinema add-on or change to a more basic TV package such as the Essentials plan.
Often the best time to negotiate is if you’re coming to the end of your contract, so it’s worth checking out how many months you have left.
Avoid the Sky price hike by locking in for longer… if you’re a new customer
Last year, Sky confirmed to Tech Advisor that if new customers signed up for a long-term Broadband contract before the cost increase, Sky would honour that price. When we last updated this article, the deals were listed as price-locked for 24 months.
That’s no longer the case – the deals now have ‘price may change’ listed on each offer. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a new broadband provider and haven’t used Sky before, we highly suggest signing up before 1 April 2025.
Author: Hannah Cowton-Barnes, Entertainment Editor, Tech Advisor
As Tech Advisor’s Entertainment Editor, Hannah is the resident expert in all things streaming, film and TV. Before joining Tech Advisor in 2019, she studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds and created a website dedicated to geek culture and lifestyle. She’s also reviewed a whole range of gadgets including flagship smartphones, wearables and styling tools. Outside of Foundry, she’s written freelance pieces for Polygon, Metro and Den of Geek, and is proud to be a Women Techmakers Ambassador for Google.
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