Customers will see bills rise by an average of £3 a month following the latest inflation-linked price hikes.

Impacted customers will receive an update between 20 February and 25 March by email or post outlining the changes.

From 1 April:

• Sky Entertainment is increasing by £2 from £22 to £24.
• Sky Broadband Essential will increase by £2 from £20 to £22
• Multiscreen will increase by £1 from £13 to £14
• HD will increase by £1 from £5 to £6.

However, there’s no change in price for the following:

• Sky Cinema (£11)
• Sky Kids (£5)
• Existing Sky Sports customers (£23)
• Sky Broadband Superfast (£27)

‘Coaxing customers into upgrading’

Nick Baker, broadband and TV expert at Uswitch.com, said price rises are an unwelcome annual tradition among most broadband providers and while part of the rise is inevitably linked to inflation, providers can also use them to steer customers onto certain products.

He said: “There certainly appears to be an element of that going on here. By hiking prices on its basic Broadband Essentials package, but not its superfast offering, Sky appears to be coaxing customers into upgrading.

“Essentials customers, who are still in the minimum term of your contract, are able to leave penalty free within 30 days of receiving the letter notifying them of the price increase. However, this rule does not apply to those who are solely on TV packages, and have seen an increase.

“If you are able to walk away from your deal, use the 30-day grace period wisely and run a comparison of other providers to see if anyone is offering a better deal.

“However, if you don’t want to switch provider it is worth picking up the phone and speaking to Sky, as you may be able to change your services and reduce your monthly bill.”

What Sky says

Sky said since its last price increase in February 2019 it has added “even more value to products and services”, such as the launch of Sky Documentaries and Sky Nature, 5G for mobile customers who join Sky VIP, Ultrafast Broadband and the Sky Go app.

A Sky spokesperson said: “We know price increases are never welcome, so we try to keep prices down while continuing to bring customers the best entertainment all in one place, leading customer service and even more flexibility to choose the package that best suits them.”