TENS of thousands of sports fans are set to see their Sky bills increase from this month.
Sky’s streaming platform NOW is raising the monthly fee for its Sports Month Membership to £34.99.
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The NOW Sports Month Membership allows users to stream all 11 Sky Sports channels.
It is currently £33.99, so this is an increase £1 a month, adding an extra £12 a year to bills.
Subscribers with the Boost add-on will also be hit with a price increase of £1.
Boost is an optional extra which gives customers ad-free streaming, increased frame rate, availability on more devices and HD viewing.
The price is going up from £5 to £6 a month.
It means any customers who subscribe to both face a £2 rise in total every month – or £24 a year.
The increases are set to take place this month, from February 28.
Members who are currently subscribed under an existing offer won’t see their bills go up until it comes to an end.
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A spokesperson for NOW said: “We know price rises are never welcome, which is why the price of our Sports Month Membership has not increased in the past six years.
“However, like many businesses in the UK, we are facing increased costs across the board.
“Therefore, we have made the decision to increase the price of our Sports Month Membership by £1 per month, which is below inflation levels.”
Sky is not the only sports broadcaster increasing prices.
BT Sport is hiking the cost of its Monthly Pass plan from £25 per month, to £29.99 per month from February 17.
That means customers will pay £4.99 a month more – almost £60 extra a year.
It comes as Sky Mobile customers are also facing a price rise.
From February 14, bills for Sky’s out of contract customers will increase by £1 a month, or an average of 9%.
BT, EE and Three are among the firms which have confirmed to The Sun they will put up bills by up to 14.4%.
Price rises will come into effect for millions of customers from the end of March.
This means that if you pay your bill on the 15th of every month for example, you’ll pay the new price from April 15.
Many broadband and mobile phone providers base their annual price increases on the rate of inflation plus an extra 3.9%.
The rate of inflation was announced last month as 10.5%, so bills will rise by 14.4%.
How can I save money on my NOW sports subscription?
If you’re looking to avoid the NOW monthly price rise on your sports membership you could cancel your Boost add-on, so you will only see a £1 increase to your bill.
But do be aware that you’ll lose out on the added features it gives you.
Sports fans could also convert their memberships to a “Sports Day Membership” which costs £11.99 for a day.
This could be a good alternative if there’s a sporting event in particular you want to watch.
Although, it’s worth bearing in mind that it could work out as more expensive depending on how many events you watch.
How do I cancel NOW?
Whatever your subscription, if you’re looking to cancel it, you can follow these simple instructions.
But it’s important to remember that if you cancel, you won’t be able to watch the football or any other content through NOW.
You can cancel at any time and there is no fee to leave.
Start by logging into your NOW account online.
Then click the My Account button which can be found in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
A drop down menu should pop up on your screen.
Next, click on the Passes and Vouchers option in the list.
Select the pass you are wishing to cancel and press the Cancel Pass button.
You will then be asked to select a reason for why you are cancelling that specific subscription. Click the reason for your cancellation.
A further screen will appear asking if you wish to cancel. If you are happy to carry on click I still want to cancel.
A confirmation message will then appear on screen and you will also receive an email to your registered account.
Is there a cancellation fee for NOW?
No – you will not be charged to cancel your NOW subscription.
The internet TV service, which is operated by broadcaster Sky, will take the specified payment for that month.
You will still be able to access the relevant subscription up until the end of the month you have paid for.
Last year, NOW customers were told to be aware that a £5 (soon to be £6) a month Boost package could have been automatically added to their account after signing up to a free trial.
If gone unnoticed, the extra fee could add £60 a year to your bill.
The Sun put together a guide on how you can check if this fee has been applied to your bill.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
