Major Sky change for customers comes into force as…

Major Sky change for customers comes into force as bills set to rise

Lots of Sky customers may notice an extra charge on their accounts - unless they act quickly.

From November 29, any new Sky Glass or Sky Stream package customers will be charged an additional £5 per month if they skip ads when watching live television. The added cost will also affect customers who were given the add-on for free on either a 12 or 18 months contract - once that initial contract comes to an end.

The Sky Glass service was first launched in Autumn last year, meaning lots of customers who signed up at the start will have finished their contract or be coming to the end of their initial deals shortly. Sky Stream was launched earlier this year, meaning current contract holders will have a little longer until the charge potentially impacts them.

To make sure to avoid the charge, current customers should keep a date in your diary of when your contract ends so that the add on can be cancelled or the new £5 fee is expected.

It may be worth paying to skip the adds if already signed up to do so on services such as ITVX and All4.

ITVX costs £5.99 per month, with the ad-less All4 costing £3.99 each month. Which means the £5 Sky charge would actually be a saving, using Sky to skip the ads on the apps instead.

There are no plans to roll out the £5 fee for skipping adverts to Sky Q but it's worth keeping an eye on.

What is the Ad Skipping service?

The add-on allows Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers to skip live TV. It allows viewers to skip fast forward through the ads using the relevant remote control buttons and on screen menu,

To skip the ads when a commercial break begins, customers can simply press the microphone button on their sky remote and say ‘fast forward three minutes’. This will take you past the ads without having to hold down the fast-forward button and wait for them to skip by.