BT to start charging TV subscribers for BT Sport
The cost of BT broadband and landline services are going up, too.
In the coming months, things are going to get a little more expensive for BT customers. The provider confirmed today that it will be raising the price of its broadband and landline services, while BT TV customers will be charged for access to BT Sport. For some customers, it will be the first time they need to pay for BT's sporting coverage, but others will see an increase in their subscription costs too.
BT says that TV subscribers will be asked to pay £3.50 each month for BT Sport from August 1st this year. Customers who have BT broadband and watch BT channels via Sky will see a £1.50 increase to £7.50. The standard subscription -- i.e. anyone who doesn't have BT broadband -- will go up by £1 to £23 per month. Both of these will come into effect from April 2nd. If you just pay for app access, the good news is that the monthly charge will stay at £5.
Also on April 2nd, all basic broadband subscriptions will increase by £2 per month, while BT Infinity Fibre customers will see a slightly larger jump of £2.50 a month. BT says line rental will be frozen at £19, but Anytime calling plans will rise by 49p to £9 a month and evening and weekend call tariffs will be increased by 30p to £3.80.
"Customers will get a better package and improved service from us this year in exchange for paying a little more. Millions will have the chance to upgrade to faster broadband and almost a million will be able to upgrade to enjoy unlimited usage for no extra cost," said BT chief John Petter. "As usual, we've taken care of low income customers by freezing the price of BT Basic and capping call costs. We've also frozen line rental, which will particularly help customers who only take a traditional phone service from us."
Last year, BT announced price hikes in April before rolling them out in July. This year, they come a little earlier. The decision to raise prices by as much as 6 percent comes after the company spent hundreds of millions of pounds on Premier League coverage and securing access to the 2017-18 Ashes series. BT also promises to award automatic compensation if it fails on its service promises, which is something that Ofcom has been watching very closely.
