The company has committed to helping licensees by using the lowest Rateable Value (RV) from either 2010 or 2017.
It said this would see the price of many pubs’ subscriptions drop while those that are facing an increase would be restricted to 5% or below.
Sky said it was continuing to invest in giving customers a live sport experience, with content that includes 126 Premier League games, the British and Irish Lions Tour, all 20 F1 Grand Prix and more hours of cricket than ever before.
“We know licensed premises are facing cost uncertainties and we want to help them manage that as well as ensure their return on investment. The Government’s changes in RVs from 2010 to 2017 were no small part of this, and we want to put customers first so that they can depend on their investment in Sky,” said David Rey, managing director at Sky Business.
“As we invest more and sports rights costs to Sky rise too, we must also review our pricing like all businesses do. But we absorb what we can. This year, no pub or club’s bill will rise by more than 5%, and many bills will go down as we commit to using the lower of the two RVs when calculating bills for the next 12 months.”
The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) welcomed the use of lower RVs. But it warned business would have to think hard about whether they can afford another price increase on top of current costs.
ALMR chief executive Kate Nicholls: “Sky has taken into account spiralling rates costs for pubs and listened to our concerns about increasing rateable value.
“The decision to use lower RVs will mean that no pub will face a repeat of previous double whammy increases at a time when their rates bills are going up and margins tightening.
“This will help to offset some of the costs that continue to increase for eating and drinking out businesses, but this rise is still well above inflation, at a time when supply chain pressures are increasing and economic and consumer confidence is uncertain.”