Sky hikes prices, gives CFO wider role

Sky is raising the price of its TV packages. The price hikes kick in at start-June and apply to new and current customers as well as those existing subs wishing to upgrade.

The top premium package will have the single largest monthly increase, with the cost rising £4.25 (US$6.15), taking the total to £80. The Sky Sports and Sky Movies Top Tier package increases £1.50, taking the monthly total to £36.

The cheapest entertainment package will increase from£20 to £22.50 (although in this case new subs will still pay £20).

The news comes days after Sky said it will launch a new basic tier sports channel Sky Sports Mix, which will include live coverage of some Premier League matches.

The pay TV company has invested huge sums in sports rights and has also been bolstering the line-up of its high-end drama channel Sky Atlantic, adding content from CBS-owned Showtime to the existing fare from HBO.

Separately, Sky has given its CFO Andrew Griffith greater responsibilities and he is adding group COO to his title. Griffith has been with Sky since 2008, joining from the TMT division of investment bank Rothschild.

He was made CFO at Sky in 2012 and was also given responsibility for Sky’s advertising business.