Ofcom are proposing Sky should be forced to share certain of its premium content channels with competing broadcasting companies.
Ofcome is proposing that Sky would have to offer premium channels to its rival broadcasters at regulated prices.
While users of Virgin’s cable TV service can subscribe to some of Sky’s premium channels, opening up the access would make it more feasible for other broadcasters to also show Sky’s content.
Sky are against this idea, and have threatened legal action against Ofcom. I would have thought they’d want more viewers to see the premium content. With the collapse of Setanta, Sky currently broadcasts the majority of English Premiership matches, Ofcom would like to see this spread out more so others can access and broadcast without requiring Sky TV.
Ofcom is also talking with the English Premier League about putting more limitations on the packages of matches. This would allow more broadcasters to show some of the matches.