Sky ups prices as BT targets Premier League

1st Jul 2010 07:17

BSkyB has put up the price of its Sky Sports channels just hours after BT announced its plan to show Sky Sports on its BT Vision channel.BT will charge customers £16.99 a month for both Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2, or £11.99 for just one of the channels.But following Sky's decision to raise its retail prices, the wholesale cost of the channels to BT will rise to £19.07 in September meaning the telecom giant's service will run at a loss.The wholesale cost BT is charged is directly linked to the price that Sky charges its retail customers.Sky has raised the retail price of its sports channels from £35 to £38 in September. For customers who just take Sky Sports 1 or Sky Sports 2, the cost will be £29, up from £29.The higher price is to cover the costs of a new three-year deal to broadcast live Premier League football, Sky said.These additional costs will be passed directly on to BT, following a ruling by the regulator Ofcom in March. It ruled that Sky would have to cut the price it charged rivals to show its premium sports channels."It's surprising that Sky are raising prices for their customers just when we're about to enter the market," BT said in a statement.However, Gavin Patterson, BT Retail's chief executive, told the BBC: "We're confident that, over the long term, and we're in this business for the long term, we will be making money."Sky has already appealed against the Ofcom ruling, arguing that its unregulated wholesale price allows other broadcasters to make a decent profit. BT also said it would challenge the ruling on the grounds the wholesale price is not lower enough.