Sky TV viewers who fast forward adverts face £5 charge

Ad Skipping feature follows similar moves from other online streaming platforms

Sky will charge customers £5 if they fast forward through adverts, the broadcaster has announced.

From 1 December, all Sky Glass and Sky Stream users will see the additional charge for the Ad Skipping feature added to their monthly bills unless they opt out.

Anyone who refuses to pay the fee will be unable to skip commercial breaks on live channels, and will also be forced to watch all sponsored messages when using catch-up apps like ITVX and when watching via the Playlists menu.

“With Ad Skipping Add On, you’ll be able to fast forward through adverts when using Live Pause, Restart, Playlist or Sky On Demand,” the company said.

“The Ad Skipping Add On doesn’t mean that you won’t see any adverts. It allows the ability to fast forward through the ads using the relevant remote control buttons and on screen menu for what you’re watching.”

Sky also noted that the Ad Skipping Add On feature works with adverts from within ITVX, STV Player and All4 TV apps, however does not include other apps like Spotify or YouTube.

Customers with Sky Q set top boxes appear to not be impacted by the extra fees as the update is yet to roll out.

Anyone who recently bought Sky Glass TV will also be able to avoid paying anything extra for at least the next 18 months.

The satellite firm first announced the controversial Ad Skipping change last year, making it one of several platforms to introduce fees designed to crack down on ad skipping.

ITVX charges £5.99 and All4 charges £3.99 to customers wishing to skip ad breaks.