ITV/BBC to partner on free satellite?

25-10-2004

ITV is considering joining the BBC in a new non-subscription venture which will seek to break BSkyB's monopoly on satellite broadcasting and could lead to the end of ITV's payments for having its services included on the Sky platform, according to a report on the Independent.

In what could amount to a double blow for James Murdoch, the CEO of Sky, the development of FreeSat comes at a time when ITV is renegotiating the £17 million (E25.5 million) annual payment to have its satellite broadcasts encrypted by Sky. Encryption gives Sky the ability to stop the ITV signal bleeding over into other countries and ensures the right regional programmes reach the right homes.

The BBC went unencrypted two years ago and it believes other public service broadcasters should follow. The channels are still available to Sky users. It is understood that ITV is carefully examining this possibility, attracted by the prospect of a £17 million saving which would boost profits by 5 per cent.

The BBC-backed satellite offer would seek to undercut Sky on price as it would back cheaper STBs that don't include a card slot for upgrading to pay-TV.

**charlie** · 26-10-2004

Hi I've just bought a dvb-s pc card and spent about two weeks getting a second hand dish setup only to discover i cant get itv/c4/five(scrambled) , Does this deal mean I will soon be able to receive these channels on my sat card and if so how long will it take?

**alfin** · 26-10-2004

Originally Posted by net1

ITV is considering joining the BBC in a new non-subscription venture which will seek to break BSkyB's monopoly on satellite broadcasting and could lead to the end of ITV's payments for having its services included on the Sky platform, according to a report on the Independent.

In what could amount to a double blow for James Murdoch, the CEO of Sky, the development of FreeSat comes at a time when ITV is renegotiating the £17 million (E25.5 million) annual payment to have its satellite broadcasts encrypted by Sky. Encryption gives Sky the ability to stop the ITV signal bleeding over into other countries and ensures the right regional programmes reach the right homes.

The BBC went unencrypted two years ago and it believes other public service broadcasters should follow. The channels are still available to Sky users. It is understood that ITV is carefully examining this possibility, attracted by the prospect of a £17 million saving which would boost profits by 5 per cent.

The BBC-backed satellite offer would seek to undercut Sky on price as it would back cheaper STBs that don't include a card slot for upgrading to pay-TV.

Not before time that SKY's monopoly was challenged.

***easysat*** · 26-10-2004

Originally Posted by net1

The BBC-backed satellite offer would seek to undercut Sky on price as it would back cheaper STBs that don't include a card slot for upgrading to pay-TV.

I am not sure if the financial logic is sound here. These days I doubt that a CI slot adds much to the satellite receiver's cost. And even Joe Public might be willing to pay the extra pennies to have the possibility of watching exotic, foreign pay channels later. The bigger expense on satellite is the installation cost. The Beeb won't be able to hide this in the subscription cost like Sky do.

***steffan_st*** · 26-10-2004

Since I'm not a UK citizen I have questions about this:

Who owns ITV?

Who owns ch4/five?

***easysat*** · 27-10-2004

Originally Posted by steffan_st

Since I'm not a UK citizen I have questions about this:

Who owns ITV?

Who owns ch4/five?

I think this is right but correct me if I am wrong:

ITV (for independent television) used to be a whole collection of private companies each having a regional TV franchise. Now they've nearly all merged together. Until last year there were two big groups left Granada and Carlton who had bought up most of the original franchise holders but now these two have merged into one big company renamed confusingly ITV.

Channel 4 is a public corporation like the BBC (i.e. belongs to the state) but there are rumours that it might be sold off by the government. Unlike the BBC Channel 4 is mainly financed by advertising.

Ch 5 (or Five as it likes to call itself) is a private company whose big shareholders include the likes of RTL and Pearson (who own the Financial Times).

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