Sky and NOW broadband price rises explained

BT and EE, for example, write a pounds-and-pence rise into their terms, applied on 31 March each year during the minimum term, and their terms say that rise doesn't give you a right to leave without an early termination charge (see our guide to BT, EE and Plusnet price rises). For other big providers, see our guides to Virgin Media's annual price change, Vodafone and Three price rises and TalkTalk's yearly price-rise rules.

Sky doesn't tell you in advance what your rise will be. Its broadband and talk terms say prices and products can change even during the minimum term, and the small print on its broadband deals says "Prices may change during your minimum term". When we checked in October 2026 that small print gave no future rise amount.

That is a trade-off. Ofcom's rule, also set out by Citizens Advice, is that where a rise wasn't set out in your contract from the start, the provider must give you notice (at least a month; Ofcom's and Citizens Advice's advice pages both say 30 days) and let you leave without a fee. So with Sky you don't know the size of next year's rise when you sign, but when it comes you get a genuine choice about whether to stay.

Sky's 2026 rise took effect from 1 April 2026. Unlike 2025, when Sky described its rise as an average increase of 6.2%, the 2026 change was given as flat amounts. ISPreview reported Sky's announcement in two stages:

"Most" and "£1 to £3" mean your figure depends on what you have. We couldn't find Sky's full product-by-product table on sky.com; Sky says it sent everyone affected an email or letter with a breakdown, so that notice is the figure for your account. A rise on each product adds up: if you have broadband, Sky Talk and TV, check each line of the breakdown rather than assuming one £3 change. Sky says future bills also show in the My Sky app, online or on your Sky box or Stream device.

What the terms promise. For broadband, Sky must give at least one calendar month's written notice (Condition 5(b)). Sky Talk gets the same month's notice for a rise in a Calls package or Sky Line Rental, unless you changed your service or the rise is required for legal or regulatory reasons.

What Sky did in 2026. Sky's help page says it emailed or wrote to everyone affected in February and March. Because Sky subscriptions are paid a month in advance, the new prices appeared first on the April bill, and the first higher payment was taken on the customer's usual April billing date. You don't have to do anything for the rise to be collected: Sky's terms let it alter your Direct Debit or card instruction when your payment changes.

The timing trap. Notices arrive weeks before the higher payment, so if you wait for the bigger April bill, your exit window may have closed.

Example (hypothetical): your notice email arrives on 20 February. Thirty days from then takes you to around 22 March, more than a week before the new prices start on 1 April. If you want to leave, that late-March date, not your April bill, is the one to diary.

Sky's terms (Condition 10(c)(i)) let you end your broadband contract straight away, including during the minimum term and without ETCs, if Sky makes a change that isn't exclusively to your benefit and has told you of that right. Condition 10(d) says you must give notice within 30 days of receiving Sky's notice. Sky's help page on the 2026 changes says the same: Sky+, Sky Q and Sky Broadband & Talk customers who want to cancel because of the changes should contact Sky within 30 days of receiving the notification to avoid early termination charges.

ISPreview's report of the 2026 rise said 31 days. Go by Sky's own 30 days, or the deadline in your notice, and act early.

If you're switching, call Sky as well. Normally, under One Touch Switch you contact only your new provider, which must send you switching information, including any early termination charges. A price-rise exit is the exception: Sky's help page says that if you're leaving Sky Broadband by One Touch Switch because of the changes, you should call Sky on 0344 824 4450 within 30 days of the notification so that early termination charges aren't applied. If the switching information Sky sends still shows an ETC, query it before the switch date.

Broadband and Sky Talk go together. If you end Sky Broadband because of a notified change, Sky's terms let you end Sky Talk without ETCs too (Sky Talk Condition 8.2(f)), and the reverse also applies (Broadband Condition 10(c)(vi)).

For Sky's other contact routes and the practical side of leaving, from final bills to returning the router, see our guide to cancelling Sky or NOW broadband.

TV is where the rules are least clear-cut, so read your own notice carefully.

• Who can leave: Sky's help page names Sky+, Sky Q and Sky Broadband & Talk customers as able to cancel within 30 days to avoid ETCs.
• Sky Glass and Sky Stream: the same page says the exit arrangement "is not applicable to Sky Glass or Sky Stream" and gives 0344 824 4450 for anyone who wants to discuss a Glass or Stream package. It doesn't say what that means for Sky broadband you have alongside, and the fee-free exit for broadband is in Sky's broadband terms, so ask Sky how it applies to you.
• What ISPreview reported: on 4 February 2026, that the exit right didn't extend to TV unless bundled with broadband; in its 18 February update, that broadband, talk and satellite TV customers in a minimum term could cancel without ETCs after a price-change notice.

As these don't line up exactly, ask Sky which of your products your right to leave covers.

Sky's help page says its changes apply to standard prices, and existing offers are handled like this:

• Fixed-price offers stay at the offer price until the offer expires. Sky also says it won't vary Sky Broadband and Talk prices while you're on an advertised fixed-price offer for a specified period.
• Percentage discounts carry on, but are applied to the new, higher price until the offer expires.

So a fixed-price deal shields you until it ends; a percentage discount doesn't.

Social tariffs (cheaper packages for people on certain benefits) were protected. Sky Broadband Basics is on a 24-month contract with no price rise during the contract, and ISPreview reported Sky's social tariffs weren't affected by the 2026 rise. NOW says NOW Broadband Basics customers kept paying the same price. If you get Universal Credit, Pension Credit or certain other benefits, our guide to broadband social tariffs explains who qualifies.

NOW is part of the Sky family, but its 2026 rise came on a different date and with a different exit window.

• The rise: NOW's help page says the prices of its broadband plans went up by £3 a month, reflected in bills from 3 July 2026. No action was needed and the service carried on as usual.
• Offers: customers on an offer kept their discounted price until the offer end date, but their payments still went up by £3.00 a month.
• Leaving: NOW's help page on the July 2026 rise said customers within their minimum contract period could cancel without early termination charges by calling 0330 041 2498 within 31 days of receiving the price-increase notification. NOW's Broadband & Calls contract (its terms from April 2025) says notice must be given within 30 days of NOW's notice, so act within 30 days, or by the deadline in your own notice if that comes first.
• The email: NOW says all NOW Broadband members should have had an email about the rise, and that it was sent from Sky rather than NOW. NOW says it is genuine, because NOW is part of the Sky family.

If an email about a price rise looks unfamiliar, check your price in NOW's My Account (or My Sky) rather than clicking links in the message; our guide to broadband scam calls and emails explains the warning signs.

1. Write down the date you received it. Sky's terms and NOW's Broadband & Calls terms both give 30 days from their notice, not from the date the new price starts. If your notice gives a different deadline, work to whichever comes first.
2. Find your figure for each product. The breakdown in the notice is the one that counts. Check it against My Sky or NOW's My Account.
3. Check what you're on. A fixed-price offer, a percentage discount and a social tariff are each treated differently. Your Contract Summary, the one-page summary you got before signing, shows your minimum term end date; our guide to reading a broadband contract summary shows where to look.
4. Work out what the rise costs you before your contract ends. Multiply the monthly increase by the months left on your contract, then compare that with what else is available.
5. See what else you could get. Compare broadband deals at your postcode, look at Sky's own current range on our Sky broadband deals page, or browse other UK broadband providers.
6. Decide before the window closes. Staying needs no action. Leaving means telling Sky (or calling NOW) inside the window, even if a new provider is arranging the switch.
7. Get it in writing. Ask for confirmation that no ETC will be charged, and keep it until your final bill arrives.

If Sky or NOW charges an ETC you think shouldn't apply, or won't accept notice you gave inside the window, complain to them first and keep a record of when. Sky and NOW use CISAS, a free, independent adjudication scheme approved by Ofcom. Ofcom's ADR checker listed both as members in November 2025, and NOW's own complaints code still named CISAS in October 2026. For a complaint first raised on or after 8 April 2026 you can take it to CISAS six weeks after you first raised it (eight weeks for earlier complaints), or straight away if the provider sends a deadlock letter saying it can't resolve it. Our guide to complaining about your broadband provider takes you through it.

Nothing we found from Sky or NOW says anything about 2027. Sky's price-changes page says only "Your prices may change from the 1 April 2026", and its terms let it raise prices at any time with notice. Sky raised prices in both 2025 and 2026, so keep this guide's checklist handy: the size of any future rise, and your deadline, will be in the notice. If a notice changes something other than price, such as your speed or what's included, our guide to your rights when a provider changes your contract explains when that gives you a right to leave too.