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New Row for Sky
(21-03-07) - In a move that has prompted an Ofcom investigation, Sky has threatened to remove its Freeview channels, hoping to replace them with paid-for programmes instead.
It is not yet clear how much Sky plans to charge for the four subscription channels that would replace Sky News, Sky Sports News and Sky 3 on the digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform, but customers would need to buy new set-top boxes to receive them.
This latest development comes only a fortnight after Virgin Media threatened to sue Sky for anti-competitive behaviour after it removed all basic channels from Virgin Media packages in a row over costs – a move that massively cut audiences of shows like Lost and 24, upsetting advertisers and customers alike.
The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are expected to tell Ofcom that Sky should lose its stake in the Freeview platform if it goes ahead with the new channels.
Chris Eagle, DigitalChoices Commercial Manage said: “Sky’s digital television competitors have failed to challenge them over the last 10 years, but it would be a bad thing for Sky to dominate the digital terrestrial television market too. “Companies like BT and Tiscali need to move quickly to fill the gap between paid-for digital and Freeview before Sky takes hold.”
What might the long implications be?
In the long run, dominance by Sky would allow them to distribute high-end Freeview boxes and apply Sky Plus services. Once they own the box and the programme guide they would be able to control the customer by promoting Sky programming ahead of all other channels.
Ofcom today said that it would wait to gain more information from Sky’s market competitors before determining whether the removal of their Freeview channels would “unacceptably diminish the appeal” of Freeview, and referring the issue to the competition authorities.
