PUB landlords may have to put up the price of a pint to cover the spiralling costs of screening live football after the latest price hike by Sky.

Others say they may have to pull the plug altogether.

Dismayed licensees learned this week that they will face an increase of more than 40 per cent if they want to show all televised Premiership games next season.

Monthly rates to show games have increased by 18 per cent but Sky has also slapped a £1,000 increase on the Premiership Plus pay-per-view package which will show an extra 50 games.

The changes have seen one pub owner's bill jump from £4,418 last season to £6,298 for the 2004-2005 Premiership term - a 43 per cent hike.

Landlords across Bolton today ruled the price increase offside and warned that it could fuel an increase in illegal receivers which pick up Premiership games via foreign broadcasters.

Douglas Stoneley-Hulme, landlord at The Antelope, in Manchester Road, Kearsley, said: "It's a Catch-22 situation for us. We either have to decide to get rid of the football and see our business go down, or put our prices up and see some of our regulars start going elsewhere."

He said that although more games were being shown, only a handful - matches involving Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City and Manchester United - would bring more people through the door.

John Ashcroft, landlord of the Robin Hood, in Halliwell Road, Halliwell, has been forced to cancel his Sky subscription after learning that it would have cost him £7,285 per year. He said: "We just cannot afford to pay it. Beer has already gone up and people will walk away if we have to put prices up again."

Sky bases monthly rates on a pub's rateable value which means some find themselves paying more than others.

A spokesman for Sky said: "This season, we'll be offering pubs the chance to show more live sport than ever before.

"We have greatly enhanced the package and there will be a 33 per cent increase in the number of live games shown.

"We believe that has been fairly reflected in the revised price."