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Sky is putting up the price of its sports channels, meaning rivals such as BT and Virgin will have to pay more to broadcast live events such as Premier League football.

BT announced on Thursday (July 1) that it will charge customers £16.99 a month for both Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2, or £11.99 for just one of the channels.

But the wholesale cost of the channels to BT will rise to £19.07 in September.

This is because the wholesale cost is directly linked to the price that Sky charges its customers, reports the BBC.

Sky is increasing the retail price of its sports channels from £35 to £38 in September. For customers who want just Sky Sports 1 or Sky Sports 2, the cost will rise from £26 to £29.

Sky told the BBC that it usually reviewed its prices in September each year, and would introduce the £3 increase to cover the costs of a new three-year deal to broadcast live Premier League football.

Mark Anderson, customer marketing director at Sky, said: "We're investing to bring customers an even better service next year. Sky Sports will have 25 per cent more live Premier League games, alongside outstanding events like the Ryder Cup and the Ashes.”

These additional costs will be passed directly on to BT, following a ruling by the regulator Ofcom in March.

It ruled that Sky would have to cut the price it charged rivals to show its premium sports channels.

Specifically, it said Sky would have to sell Sky Sports 1 and 2 for £10.63 a month each to rival broadcasters.

If the two channels were sold together, Ofcom set a price of £17.14.

After Sky's announced price increase, these wholesale prices will increase to £13.42 and £19.07.

These are significantly higher than the prices BT is charging, and has led to questions about how BT will make money from selling Sky Sports.

"It's surprising that Sky are raising prices for their customers just when we're about to enter the market," BT said in a statement.

However, Gavin Patterson, BT Retail's chief executive, told the BBC: "We're confident that, over the long term, and we're in this business for the long term, we will be making money [by selling Sky Sports channels]."

BT is also offering Sky Sports 1 for £6.99 a month, or both sports channels for £11.99, to customers willing to sign up to other services, such as broadband and telephone, for a minimum of two years.