Sky TV 2024 Price Hike: Here’s How Much More You’ll Pay

In a move that’s set to affect thousands of households across the UK, Sky has announced a significant price hike for its Sky Glass, Sky Stream and Sky Q  TV services, effective from April 1, 2024.

This adjustment will see existing subscribers (including those under contract) facing increased monthly charges, with the potential for new subscribers to also be impacted.

Amidst a backdrop of rising living costs, these increases could not come at a more challenging time for consumers.

For instance, the Sky Entertainment package, the backbone of the Sky Ultimate bundle, will jump by £2 a month. This means subscribers on a rolling contract will see their bills rise to £31/month, while those on an 18-month term will pay £28/month, before any discounts.

• April Update: Prices have gone up for new customers as well.

Sky Cinema and Sky Sports customers will see even steeper increases, and even the cost of Sky Kids is going up (see full details below).

Here’s my comprehensive guide to understanding the upcoming changes and exploring your alternatives, should you consider this price hike a catalyst to explore TV options beyond Sky.

Sky Stream (see my review), a 4K streaming box (also referred to as the “puck”), has been a major turning point for Sky since its introduction – in more ways than one.

Unlike Sky’s traditional devices (such as Sky Q), Stream doesn’t require a satellite dish – and instead, uses broadband to stream TV shows to you (including Freeview channels) – positioning itself alongside the likes of Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and Google’s Chromecast in the streaming device market.

What sets Sky Stream apart is its unique value proposition: it offers both the hardware and Sky’s TV service under a single subscription.

Sky Glass (see my review) works in much the same way, and is also based on broadband – but it’s a full 4K TV set with a QLED HDR display and a built-in Dolby Atmos soundbar with six speakers.

Sky Q needs no introductions, being Sky’s flagship TV box for many years, with its satellite-based TV broadcasting, along with a hard drive for recordings, as well as a long list of streaming apps.

However, as we previously reported, Sky is slowly moving away from Sky Q, putting more emphasis on its broadband-based products, Stream and Glass.

Sky Glass And Stream’s Pricing

With Sky Glass, customers need to buy the TV itself (optionally with instalments), and then pay for the content on top. With Sky Stream, customers get the box as a loan – and then only pay for the content.

A major difference between Stream / Glass and Sky Q, is that Sky Stream and Glass do not require a long-term contract. The basic contract is a rolling 31-day agreement that you can cancel at any time without penalty charges.

However, an 18-month contract option is also available, which can lower your monthly subscription costs.

As of now, the basic content package for both Sky Stream and Sky Glass users is the Sky Ultimate plan.

This includes a variety of Sky Entertainment channels, Freeview, and Netflix’s standard ad-supported plan. The rolling-contract version of this package is priced at £29/month, while the 18-month contract option comes in at £26/month.

Additional packages and features can be added to the basic plan, including Sky Cinema, Sky Sports, Sky Kids, and TNT Sports, along with 4K and Dolby Atmos capabilities, fast-forwarding through adverts, and the “Whole Home” option for multi-room viewing – and all of these incur extra monthly charges.

Sky TV’s Price Changes From April 1, 2024

As Sky prepares to adjust its pricing structure for Sky Glass, Sky Stream and Sky Q services, subscribers are bracing for increases across the board.

According to Sky, across TV, mobile and broadband, prices will go up by an average of 6.7%. 

However, that average is almost meaningless, as it doesn’t take into account current subscriber discounts – and, let’s face it, most Sky customers are probably getting a discount of some sort on their package.

Therefore, you will only know YOUR exact price increase once you get a detailed update from Sky, especially if you also get your broadband from Sky.

But, for the TV part, we can list the flat-price increases that will be added to your bill from April 1, on top of your existing prices, discounted or otherwise:

Sky Entertainment

Currently, the Sky Entertainment package, which forms the core of the Sky Ultimate bundle, costs £29 per month on a rolling contract and £26 per month on an 18-month contract.

From April 1, this package will see an increase of £2 per month.

This means the new prices will be £31/month for those on a rolling contract and £28/month for subscribers committed to an 18-month term, before discounts.

So if you’re currently paying less due to a special discount – simply add £2 on top, to know what you’ll be paying from April.

Sky Cinema

On Sky Glass and Sky Stream, Sky Cinema (which also includes Paramount+ at no extra cost) normally costs £10/month on the 18-month contract, and £13/month with the 31-day rolling contract.

From April 1, Sky Cinema for Sky Q customers will see a £1 increase per month, and for Sky Stream or Sky Glass customers, the price will jump by £3 per month.

So – £13/month on the 18-month contract, and £16/month on the rolling contract (or less, if you’re getting a discount – in which case just add the £3/m on top).

Sky Sports

On Sky Glass / Stream, the Sky Sports add-on normally costs £25/month with the 18 months contract, or £27/month on the rolling contract.

From April 1, the Sky Sports package will see a £3 monthly increase.

Sky Kids

The Sky Kids add-on currently costs £6/month on Stream and Glass.

From April 1, it is set to increase by £1 a month. 

TNT Sports

The TNT Sports add-on (formerly known as BT Sport) is already quite expensive on Sky, compared to some of the other pay-TV providers.

Normally, it costs £30/month on a rolling contract (there’s no 18-month contract), on Sky Glass and Sky Stream, and £28/m on Sky Q – before discounts.

From April 1, the price for TNT Sports will increase by £2 a month for Sky Q customers, so it will be identical to the price on Sky Stream / Sky Glass. 

As of this writing, Sky did not specify a TNT Sports price increase for Glass / Stream customers – so it will presumably stay at the current £30/month.

Whole Home

The “Whole Home” add-on, allowing subscribers to watch Sky’s content in multiple rooms, is presently priced at £12 per month (and you also need an extra Sky Stream Puck for each room – the first one is free, for now).

From April 1, “Whole Home” will see a £1 increase, bringing the monthly cost to £13/month.

The pricing for the 4K/UHD add-on (£6/month), and the Ad Skipping add-on (£5/month) will not be going up (at least as of this writing).

Sky’s Explanation For The Price Increases

In a recent letter from Devesh Raj, Chief Operating Officer of Sky, the company outlined the rationale behind the upcoming price adjustments for its services, including Sky Glass and Sky Stream.

Acknowledging the challenges of rising costs in a budget-conscious era, Raj emphasized Sky’s commitment to transparency regarding these changes.

Sky’s approach to price adjustments differs from competitors by not tying increases directly to inflation indices like CPI or RPI.

This strategy has reportedly resulted in some Sky customers experiencing lower increases compared to those of other providers over the past three years.

Raj highlighted Sky’s efforts to manage these adjustments sensitively, including freezing prices for broadband and mobile social tariffs to support vulnerable customers and allowing broadband customers to leave their contracts penalty-free within 30 days of a price increase notification.

Moreover, Raj pointed to Sky’s continuous efforts to enrich its entertainment offerings, citing the integration of over 100,000 hours of content from various platforms, the addition of Discovery+ at no extra cost, and the anticipation of exclusive content and extensive sports coverage.

Sky TV Alternatives

As with any price increase, this may be the perfect moment to consider cutting the TV cord.

What does cord cutting mean? We have a comprehensive guide about that, but in general terms, it means ditching traditional pay-TV companies like Sky, Virgin Media and EE, at least for their TV services – and signing up directly with lower-cost streaming services like Netflix and Disney+.

Getting Freeview / Freesat Without Sky

If you casually watch Freeview channels, you don’t even need a recording box – every TV sold in the UK after 2010 already has a Freeview tuner built-in.

As long as you have decent reception in your house, you just need to connect an aerial (it can even be a cheap indoor aerial in many cases)

If you do want to be able to record Freeview channels (and then watch later, plus be able to pause, rewind and fast-forward live channels), you can get a Freeview recording box, though those are currently quite hard to get (the Humax Aura is out of stock, and the new Manhattan T4-R is only launching in April).

However, once you have the Freeview box and decent Freeview reception, you don’t need to pay anyone else for the privilege of watching and recording Freeview, ever again (Well, except for the annual TV licence – but that’s also true when you’re with Sky).

• Also See our full Freeview Guide.

Another option that is particularly suitable for many Sky subscribers is Freesat – which is similar to Freeview, but reaches your house via a satellite dish – like the one you already have for Sky.

If you leave Sky, the dish remains at your house in most cases – and, for most, would then be suitable for Freesat (though some would need to make small adjustments to the dish – something that can easily be done by an engineer).

At that point, you would need a Freesat receiver/recording box – see more in our Best Freesat Boxes roundup.

Later in 2024, the company behind Freeview and Freesat is also launching Freely, a new broadband-based service that will let you watch most Freeview/Freesat channels without needing a satellite dish OR an aerial.

However, at launch, Freely will only be supported on next-gen Smart TVs released in 2024 – so it will not be relevant for most people.

Later, Freely is likely to add support for set-top boxes, and possibly even other streaming devices.

Streaming TV Without Sky

In addition to Freeview/Freesat, we also want to be able to watch streaming services – either the paid ones like Netflix, or the free catch-up ones from public broadcasters, like BBC iPlayer and ITVX.

For that, you first need broadband, of course (and preferably high-speed broadband) – so you can either stay with Sky Broadband or switch to a better broadband deal elsewhere.

Next, you need a streaming device. If you have a Smart TV from the past 6-7 years or so, there’s a good chance you already have most of the major streaming apps and services built into your TV.

If not, you can buy a dedicated streaming stick – these are small, cheap devices that give you access to a huge library of apps and services. 

The price range can be wide, but you mainly need to decide whether you want a 4K streaming stick, or if HD (1080p) is enough for you. In most cases, I would go for a 4K stick, as that future-proofs your purchase, even if you don’t currently have a 4K TV.

Two excellent choices for streaming sticks are the Amazon Fire TV 4K Max (see our review) and the Roku Streaming Stick 4K (see our review).

Getting Lower Prices With Sky

Despite everything, I understand some may wish to remain with Sky (though, remember – you can also watch Sky’s content on Sky’s standalone streaming service, NOW, which is cheaper in most cases).

If you’re out of contract – or your contract is up for renewal soon – the best advice is to haggle.

While you will still see annual price increases, your starting price can be much lower if you haggle and threaten to leave unless your prices are lowered. 

Also remember that you don’t have to sign long-term contracts these days, as you can sign up for Sky Stream, the standalone streaming box – on a rolling 31-day contract.

Sky Stream Deals

Lastly, if you’re considering a new subscription to Sky Stream, be sure to take them up on one of their current offers – there’s no reason to pay full price (existing customers can use these prices when they haggle).

So, these are your options as of this writing:

• Sky Stream Ultimate – with Netflix – For £19/month – with the 18-month contract. You can then add the content add-ons on tops – or just stay with the Ultimate plan.
• Sky Stream Ultimate – with Netflix – For £26/month – with the 31-days rolling contract. You can then add the content add-ons on tops – or just stay with the Ultimate plan.
• Sky Stream Ultimate with Netflix and Sky Sports – Now for just £37/month
• Sky Stream Ultimate with Netflix and Sky Cinema – Now for just £27/month

Note that 3 of these offers are for an 18-month contract. 

Alternatively, Sky is also currently offering a free 1-month trial for Sky Stream.

Will the April 1, 2024 price increases affect subscribers who join Sky today? Sky assured us that the answer is NO – and prices will no longer change for subscribers who join now (until March/April 2025, that is).

However, the “small print” on Sky’s website currently says otherwise – so please double-check your contract.

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