Sky Sport, Another Price Increase

Forums › Sky, Neon, Lightbox › Sky Sport, Another Price Increase

nztim

4147 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2876

ID Verified

Trusted

TEAMnetwork

Subscriber

#324041 19-Feb-2026 11:23

Just got a dreaded email from Sky, Sky Sport is going up to $52 Per month, it is getting very close to the end of the road for me for watching sport in an ethical way.

SSN is now I expect a price increase as well soon....

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

1 | 2 | 3

MikeB4
18956 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13167

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3462999 19-Feb-2026 11:35

Sky is just accelerating their slow death.

Normal ain't coming back, the crazy stays.

nztim

4147 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2876

ID Verified

Trusted

TEAMnetwork

Subscriber

#3463014 19-Feb-2026 12:08

MikeB4:

Sky is just accelerating their slow death.

Indeed, they are but who is going to take up those sporting rights and not rip us off?

They cost millions

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

MikeB4

MikeB4
18956 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13167

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3463023 19-Feb-2026 12:47

There is always another fish or a bigger fish. Once Sky passes from this world their rights will free up and another fish will snap them up. Decades ago Sky dramatically changed the TV market in Aotearoa their poor performance and slow death now is holding back the industry here.

Normal ain't coming back, the crazy stays.

JPNZ

1806 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 904

#3463026 19-Feb-2026 13:05

MikeB4:

Sky is just accelerating their slow death.

Its so funny seeing people post thinking they are dying when their Net Profit for FY25 was $41.1 million & market cap is $62 million higher than Jan 2025.

They have NZR Rugby rights to 2030 & NRL rights to 2028 along with helping kill off spark sports. I'd say they are doing pretty well in all fairness

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

JPNZ

1806 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 904

#3463031 19-Feb-2026 13:12

nztim:

Just got a dreaded email from Sky, Sky Sport is going up to $52 Per month, it is getting very close to the end of the road for me for watching sport in an ethical way.

SSN is now I expect a price increase as well soon....

I'm under contract so didn't get the email (or the increase) but SSN is already $54.99 a month so I don't think that will be increasing.

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

MikeB4

MikeB4
18956 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13167

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3463032 19-Feb-2026 13:13

They are bleeding subscribers and losing content providers. Their revenue is only maintained by price increases not increases in market share. All fiscal markers are trending down. Revenue down, net income down, assets and equity down. Their share price over the last twelve months is a trend down. That is not a healthy outlook.

Normal ain't coming back, the crazy stays.

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

JPNZ

1806 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 904

#3463034 19-Feb-2026 13:15

MikeB4:

Their share price over the last twelve months is a trend down.

Yet its up 23% in the last 12 months, strange...

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

Quinny

961 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 223

Trusted

#3463035 19-Feb-2026 13:15

I'm so glad I locked in at Black Friday last year. Only time would purchase.

MikeB4

MikeB4
18956 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13167

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3463039 19-Feb-2026 13:34

Currently using Sky Sport Now for the Olympics. Not a great experience. Will not continue after the current month. As for Neon once they lose a big chunk of their content due to HBO Neo will simply not be worth it and I will stop that subscription. As for Sky's OTT service I have tried the new box and the pod I would rather have my teeth pulled while having a lumber puncture without pain relief than go through that nightmare again.

Normal ain't coming back, the crazy stays.

mattwnz

20659 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4917

#3463057 19-Feb-2026 14:17

nztim:

Just got a dreaded email from Sky, Sky Sport is going up to $52 Per month, it is getting very close to the end of the road for me for watching sport in an ethical way.

SSN is now I expect a price increase as well soon....

Everything is going up though. It isn't bad value if you are a big sports watcher. Many subscription services are now getting very expensive. Also factor in that the NZ dollar is very weak, and they are probably paying for most content in overseas dollars.

Jas777

844 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 113

#3463058 19-Feb-2026 14:18

Some one has to pay the players salaries.

But for Sport it really depends on how much you watch and within a certain sport how many different comps you watch.

Say you watch Rugby, Rugby League , Cricket and Football and within those 4 sports your team(s) be it International level and/or local level or or individual players you like play in different comps then you could have 4 subscriptions needed at any given time costing you $20 a month. That is $80 which is more than $52.

However if you don't watch a lot then $52 is high.

Dell

Shop now for Dell laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Movieman

Movieman
4118 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2752

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3463077 19-Feb-2026 15:30

I complain each time my Sky Sport subscription gets an increase, and I often threaten to cancel the service. Then I think hard on where I can get my sporting fix for less (without streaming illegally).

I am an avid fan of the English Premier League and much of my weekend is taken up watching several games. I am also a NZ Warriors couch fan, and make full use of Sky Sport to watch several NRL games each week in season. On top of that, Sky has got back rights to screen NZ cricket, plus I'm a casual F1 fan, plus all of the major tennis tournaments. On top of that we are getting several sports in 4K UHD (don't have the white box yet, but working on it) and it becomes obvious that Sky Sport, to me is still value for money.

I have friends who cancelled their Sky subscription and subscribed to Sky Sport Now to save a few dollars, but they are not happy with the service and are looking at going back.

Until Sky loses the rights to the EPL and NRL, I will just pay the increase and enjoy the service.

I'm surprised that they were outbid by TVNZ for the rights to the FIFA World Cup though.

MAN CAVE: 2025 TCL C7K 75" QD Mini LED TV - Apple TV 4K 64gb Wi-Fi (3nd Gen) - Samsung HW Q990F Soundbar - Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray Player - Apple Airpods Max - LIVING ROOM: 2021 Sony 75” X95J LCD/LED TV - Apple TV 4K Wi-Fi 32gb (2nd Gen) - 2 x Apple Homepods Gen.2 (paired) - TECH: iPhone 15 Plus, iPad Gen. 10, Apple Watch SE.

Goosey

3095 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 913

Subscriber

#3463082 19-Feb-2026 15:50

Bring back alcohol and tobacco sponsorship (well at least booze).

every sport has got more expensive since the do gooders have had their way.

the point I’m trying to make here is that, sports bodies are trying to recoup the losses in revenue and ask broadcasters to subsidise the lack of revenue comming from big business.

Handle9

12541 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10360

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3463084 19-Feb-2026 16:07

Goosey:

Bring back alcohol and tobacco sponsorship (well at least booze).

every sport has got more expensive since the do gooders have had their way.

the point I’m trying to make here is that, sports bodies are trying to recoup the losses in revenue and ask broadcasters to subsidise the lack of revenue comming from big business.

If they had a gazillion dollars of tobacco money they'd still sell the TV rights for as much as they can get.

OldGeek

1002 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 415

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3463085 19-Feb-2026 16:07

Movieman:

I have friends who cancelled their Sky subscription and subscribed to Sky Sport Now to save a few dollars, but they are not happy with the service and are looking at going back.

I did exactly that - and the saving was far more than 'a few dollars'. I was forced to really think about what I wanted from Sky when the whitebox would not work with my 2018 Samsung TV - no signal on the HDMI port used. I took the issue up with both Sky (unhelpful) and Samsung NZ but got no-where. At the time my basic+sport was about $85 per month and Sky Sport Now was under $40 per month then and now. Rather than persist with a satellite sub and POD, I simply went with Sky Sports Now and Freeview (being all I needed).

SSN comes in a number of incarnations. I am currently using the Samsung version for (now elderly version of) Tizen from the Samsung appstore. While it has had performance issues it is now quite stable compared to earlier versions where the app would freeze and require a restart (of both the app and the stream). Now though it freezes occasionally but then resumes the stream with the freeze period lost. My viewing habit is to start watching live events about 20 minutes after kickoff, making use of fast-forward particularly at halftime. There are clearly other versions of SSN - for other TV manufacturers, phones/tablets and PCs through a browser etc. Because my TV is 4k-capable I am sticking with it in spite of the fact that an Amazon Firestick was also rejected with a 'no signal' response on the HDMI port used. It is worth noting that the old Sky PACE decoder worked fine with this TV.

One option I am considering is to use a Firestick (the recommended stick by SSN) and replace my TV with a cheapish second-hand 8K TV that will accept a Firestick on its HDMI port. This will allow future TV upgrades to be done by replacing the Firestick instead of the TV, until such time as 8K resolution is no longer good enough (or the TV snuffs it).

So SSN can and does work for me. Don't believe all the horror stories.

I am on an annual subscription expiring in March 2026. Back in November last year Sky offered SSN annual subscription renewals for $150 off - so I will get $150 off the annual subscription at the time of renewal.

--

OldGeek.

1 | 2 | 3