Quote:
Originally Posted by yorkshireborn
so why has sky not walloped their prices up they must be in the same boat
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VM's in a slightly different boat as its parent company, Liberty Global, prices its shares in US $ whilst Sky plc prices its shares in £.
A weaker £ means less profit in $ for Liberty Global so more pressure to raise prices. As always, there's a risk that higher prices will result in churn and the Which? report advising that 50% of VM customers were unhappy with price rises must be a concern for the company. Looking at it objectively, it's certainly a bold move.
But, we don't know how either company hedges currency fluctuations - if VM's costs have risen significantly then it may not have done so sufficiently; Sky could have done.
Aside from exchange rates, there are other factors at play impacting pay-TV companies. The rise of companies like Netflix and Amazon has lead to increased content costs as more companies bid for film and entertainment rights. We've seen this most visibly with UK sports TV rights and the emergence of BT Sport as a powerful force.
And, Sky has already unleashed price rises upon its customers most recently in June so may feel that it needs a gap before the next increase is implemented.