SKY price rises

SKY has added to the cost of living rise currently crippling the UK by adding £43 a year for millions of their customers.

With the UK seeing the highest rate of inflation since March 1992 SKY have followed Virgin Media in hiking up the bills for millions, cynics have commented that sky have done the largest percentage increase in the services that are essential for their customers – superfast broadband and screening programmes in HD quality

Sky have split the price rise across a number of its services so customers that have TV, broadband and phone lines with them, will be hit hardest. Sky have said that the average price will increase by £3.60 for customers but the breakdown for the price rise is;

• Sky Signature TV package – £1 increase
• Sky Cinema – £1 increase
• BT Sport – £1 increase
• Broadband Essential – £2.50 increase
• Superfast Broadband – £3 increase
• Sky HD – £1 increase
• UK landline and mobile calls – 2p per minute increase

If you had the extra options on your Sky bill then the increase will be more than the £43 a year

How can you save on your TV & Broadband bills?

With the cost of living being at an all time high, consumers are having to make some decisions on what to purchase and the same is now in the home entertainment market. The most recent annual figures showed that people were holding on to their mobile phones for longer after a global 12.5% drop in sales during the first year of the pandemic showing that non essential purchases were being cut and that should be the same with your packages.

Streaming TV services

With Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney+, Brit Box and other smaller streaming on demand services vying for your subscriptions you need to honestly think which of these are used on a frequent basis. It is also looking at if you use the channels you have you have subscribed to through Sky, Virgin, TalkTalk etc and whether streaming services and FreeView offer everything you need. If you rarely watch a premium channel through your package but mainly watch the free to air TV channels and a streaming service you have to ask if it is worth paying £27 a month for TV packages through SKY or Virgin if you do not use them. This could lead to a £324 a year saving with a broadband only package.

Phone line

Many operators automatically bundle a home phone line into your package, if you do not use one or have inclusive mobile minutes do you really need this feature? It can sometimes add £9.99 a month to your bill for a service that you do not use (or probably know how to use because you do not know your home phone number). If you do use your home phone line then check that the package is right for you, if you are a heavy user look for an anytime call package, if you are a medium user then evening and weekends are probably best for you but if you are only a weekend user then just opt for a weekend package.

Broadband Speed

Everyone wants to have the fastest and shiniest broadband but if you do not need it then do not pay for it. If you do not stream online TV or do online gaming then you do not need superfast 100mb+ broadband, some real savings can be seen for matching your consumption needs.

Extra box

It can be very beneficial having a 2nd or 3rd box in the house so you can watch the premium channels in different rooms but these usually come with a £5 – £7 a month fee. Consider what channels you are watching in the other rooms and if FreeView could meet your needs or if you mainly watch streaming services then purchasing a devise such as a Google Chromecast or Amazon Firestick can save you money because your smartphone will act as hub to contact the streaming service and watch it through your TV.

Sports

The additional sports package is the most expensive add on, but there alternatives such as NOW TV where you only watch what you want to on specific days. If you are paying £35 a month for the complete sports bundle but only watch it 2 or 3 days a month then a £9.99 daily fee could be better for you.