Sky Ireland to follow UK sports channels lead

Sky Ireland, the Irish arm of the News Corp-backed satellite pay-TV operator, is set to increase the price of its sports channels to customers by 8%.

This follows price rises for UK subscribers following communications regulator Ofcom’s decision to force BSkyB to reduce its wholesale price for its sports channels to rivals and base it on its own retail price. Irish customers will be charged €3 more for both the Single Sports package – which allows access to Sky Sports 1 or 2 for €40 per month – and the Dual Sports package – which offers access to both channels for €55 per month.