Viewing figures

The basic Sky TV package has soared from £17 to £30 a month over the past seven years, an increase of seventy six per cent, per figures from subscription free television system service Freesat.

Subscribers to Virgin Media have seen the value of a basic package increase from £11 to £18, a leap of sixty three per cent over constant amount.

During that point, the typical wage has up simply fourteen per cent. Worse, viewers square measure currently paying additional for channels they wont to get as commonplace, Freesat claims.

In 2008, Sky’s basic package enclosed over 260 channels together with children’s, documentaries, music and news offerings.

Today, its least expensive package doesn't embrace those channels, thus viewers ought to pay £30 a month for its selection Bundle.

Prices still rise, with Virgin Media set to boost charges from Feb one, with average value hikes of five.4 per cent. nearly 1/2 all customers say they either don't perceive why their charges square measure being hiked or feel poorly treated.

Freesat proponent Jennifer Elworthy says rising prices square measure a true flip off: “The value of TV packages has redoubled drastically within the last decade and that they have become unaffordable for several families.”

She warns that several folks square measure paying for channels they ne'er watch: “We grasp that ninety nine per cent of the foremost standard programmes watched on Sky last year were accessible on free-to-view channels.”