Sky have updated their website today notifying their intention to increase prices as they do almost every year.


So expect lots of scary news stories this week terrifying customers that their prices will rise by as much as 10%.

That has already been mentioned, sometime last week, when they did the advertising for Sky Sports 5.

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...5#post73109593

I do not agree with any increase as we have had the Phone Hacking situation and closure of the NOW and launching of The Sun On Sunday for various reasons and yet Sky and the Murdochs are allowed to increase prices yet again, on the other hand the poor BBC are forced to make cuts due to the licence freeze.

Yet Cameron keeps saying we are all in it together?, yes right one rule for Private FATCATS and another for Public Services. While the poor suffer the rich get richer.

Not happy about yet another price rise! If they want to add another sports channel that add the cost wholly to the sports pack. Why should I, a non-sports subscriber, subsidise an extra channel for sports fans!

Who says your package will increase (it probably will) and secondly, how will the new content, services or evolution of the products ever take place if prices don't change? If you're happy to remain with what you've got and be excluded from new content etc, then fair enough - otherwise, like everyone else - if you want a service, you pay for it.

Sky has no real competition in terms of premium entertainment channels and sports so they can drive prices higher while rewarding content creators and rights holders in the process too with bigger deals.

The same applies to line rental where BT has a near monopoly and continues to drive the price higher every year both retail and wholesale and the costs get passed to consumers. Notice with your broadband service where there's fierce competition your prices almost never increase.

Competition is king for consumers which is why big business is always keen to swallow rivals through acquisition.

just a shame i can't stand TiVo otherwise i'd move to Virgin again. Their current crop of big bundle deals are quite decent at the moment.

You have the ultimate answer to this and any other product proffered by this corrupt organisation which is simple, just cancel your subscription and stop buying their products. If you don't pay they won't stay and given time other suppliers will acquire their share of the media circus.

Partially true but there's no such thing as a truly free market. The fact that Sky operates the only premium satellite provider in the UK and the premier UK sports brand means they have an unfair advantage and get to pull this crap year after year.

But you are free to choose whether to buy their product or not.

Well not every year, a couple years back they froze the price...hope you gave them a little bit of praise for that.

Let's all remember that price rises of up to 10% are on individual products and not your overall bill. Eg, Multiroom went up by 10% last year, a grand total of £1 but then had a £5 service thrown in.

Sky Sports 5 will be covered by a sports package only increase, if you don't have sports, you won't be paying for it!

If you are not happy, cancel, really quite simple, no one forces you to pay them for a service you don't want.

Not always true. As a result of the competition from BT we are likely to see a massive hike in the sums paid by both of them for the next round of EPL rights. Part of any Sky rise in September is likely to factor that into the equation. In any event that "competition" between Sky and BT will mean yet more cost for subscribers to their services.

So competition doesn't always drive down prices - in this particular market it has the opposite effect. Competition works for consumers where you have two or more suppliers selling the same product. In broadcasting you tend to have two or more suppliers bidding for exclusive rights to sell a particular product - that forces prices for the consumer up.

Yes indeed the competition in this case is the other way round compared to say supermarkets. The competition is for who provides the best deal for the Premier League which will push prices up rather than supermarkets where they are competing for the best price to consumers.

It's not clear how competition could work for the consumer in this case. For supermarkets there are many sources of carrots but there is only one PL. Even if Sky, BT etc were all showing the same matches which would probably work better the PL still holds the cards.

If only virgin has dug up a few more roads there could be real competition. I think I read it was only 5% of the population had access to Virgin media cable!!!

Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm sure I am way off... lol.

Well I can't quote a figure, but it must surely be way more than 5% as all cities and major towns are largely cabled now, which is where the vast majority of the population are.

It's actually about 50%

A sensational increase from 5 to 50% in such a short time.

I agree about Virgin Media as I would chose them but we do not have cable where we live and in reply to Sodafountains reply to my comment and while no one forces us to have Sky the only way you can see a lot of the live football is on Sky and that also applies for Cricket as without Sky you have to rely on radio, now that has been forced on us sports fans by the FATCAT Murdoch's by taking it away from terrestrial.

So to sum it up people say "you don't have to have Sky", but the Cricket and lots of live football was taken away from the BBC and Sky so it is a case of pay for it via Sky or miss out. I say give it back to the BBC and ITV and let us all enjoy Cricket fee to air but no the Murdoch's don't want that.

You could follow that line with anything though, why do films have to be on in the cinema, why can't they just go on the BBC, I don't want to pay the high prices!!

Football, cricket, rugby, they have all sold their rights to the highest bidder, Sky has not insisted they sell them the rights, the sport has done that, so if you have a problem with not being able to see the sports you want for free, take it up with the sport, not Sky, who are a business, and will do what they need to make money.

Of course, you say football should be back on the BBC, they showed 4 or 5 live games a week did they, with the same comprehensive coverage we get now?

You are just like everyone else who wants the best, but doesn't want to pay for it, and expects it all to be given away for free, get in the real world!!

As already said, no one FORCES you to subscribe, if you want to watch what the have, then it must be value for money, otherwise, why pay it?

Also, don't understand the Virgin Media bit, as they show Sky Sports, doesn't matter where you watch it, you are still paying Sky for the content!!

You are right but you will not get much support. Everyone here who says they are happy with the rise are lying

What happen the following year?

I have to agree with what you are saying, now is a typical time in sport. The world cup where all can watch and get involved with the competition , unlike when its only on Sky

That is because it's a protected event, trust me, if it wasn't, it would be sold to the highest bidder, with just the British Nations games on FTA.