Some hosts hit by 29% subscription rate hikes
by Tony Halstead
Some licensees are facing Sky subscription increases of close to 29% following the satellite broadcaster's annual price rise announcement.
Hosts are being stung for increases way above the 12% promised by Sky, despite the company's transitional relief scheme that is designed to cushion the effects of rateable-value banding changes.
One licensee, David Campbell of the Golden Ball at Longton near Preston, faces an increase of almost 29% after his subscription, with VAT, rose from £587 to £768 per month. He described the rise as 'legalised theft and now plans to ditch Sky after 10 years.
Bar Group chief executive Paul Wigham, whose company faces an average 23% rise in 25 pubs he runs across London and the south east, said he was dumfounded by the rise.
Accusing Sky of jumping on the back of the RV revision to make a windfall profit, he said he will be forced to cough up an average £7,677 per pub compared to £6,139 paid last year, which will add £38,450 in annual business costs.
'I am dumfounded because Sky has no justification to increase prices like this except it is in a monopoly position and can effec-tively do what it likes, he said.
Wigham doubted whether he will take Sky out of any of his pubs but plans to cut down on the Premier Plus service where he faces a 7% increase over the next year.
Frank Bellamy, tenant at Thwaites New Welcome Inn at Preston, said his monthly Sky subscriptions had shot up from £109 to £203. 'Talk about price increases.I'm only taking about £2,000 a week. To me, £20 extra a week is a lot of money. There's got to be something done about that lot [Sky], he said.
Managing director of Wolver-hampton & Dudley's Pathfinder Pubs managed house division, Derek Andrew, said there was no justification for Sky's 'double whammy increase. 'They've already got a free increase through the rateable value changes and I cannot see the justification in imposing their own rise too.
Spirit, believed to be Sky's single largest pub-industry sub- scriber, said it would be dropping the service at 10% of its pubs this summer.
Sky said one million extra people had watched live sport in pubs last year, with an average spend per customer of £15.50.
A spokesman said two thirds of subscribers had remained in the same charging band or had dropped to a lower level.
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