Sky to launch a pay-TV digital terrestrial service

It seems that the channels Sky want to offer on DTT for revenue are exactly the same ones they have issues over with VM.

Surely it would weaken Sky's arguement if they wanted to force VM to pay more for them when they were previously giving them away free on DTT?

There is something very under-hand going on at the moment and I don't think we have even seen the lengths these broadcasters will go to.

PS That ntl:virgin ad that Sky are now showing is really tacky and totally uncalled for. Surely Ofcom should intervene here?

The viewer needs to benefit here - not always the big companies!

Well both concern their channels - hardly suprising given that they are their channels! I don't think the two are really related; on one hand they are planning on putting together a package of four channels on DTT, on the other they are trying to maximise their income from Virgin subscribers.

It seems to have been rumoured to such an extent, and without any denial from Sky, that I would expect it to be true.

If it's also true that Sky+ is to become the default installation for new customers they would have to remove the additional subscription otherwise it makes a mockery of the true cost of their cheapest packages (or a waste of money giving away a Sky+ box if customers can't use that facility).

Again only rumours, but I've read the Sky+ deal would just be an offer - and I'd expect that would probably be just to new customers as most offers are.

Just looking at the original Media247 article, and the Sky+ sub was supposed to have been dropped on the 12th Feb. So it doesn't look hopeful.

Ofcom to review Sky's DTT Plans...

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2014755,00.html

Of course these plans were always going to need reviewing, but that's a much tougher response than I expected from OFCOM - the right response, but hey, we never usually get that!


They seem to be covering a wide area too - for example concerns that having a mux broadcasting in both MPEG2 and MPEG4 may cause trouble for current Freeview boxes, meaning as well as the Sky channels people would lose the other channels on that mux.

The abject stupidity of OFCOM never ceases to amaze. This whole situation has arisen in part due to their lifting last year of the restriction of the requirement for free to air only services on multiplexes B, C, D.

Yet now they seem surprised. Time to replace this out of touch organisation with a regulator that actually knows what they're doing.

What ad are you referring to Owan? I've not seen it on analogue yet

Its just on the Sky channels.

Just thought today when I saw the ad in the paper about how this would affect the NHS Direct service on Freeview - I doubt the Government be too keen on it only being available on a subscription service.

I think the biggest stumbling block here for Sky is that fact that existing boxes and iDTVs won't be able to unscramble the MPEG4 signal.

It seems alot to ask people to do just so they can squeeeze 4 channels into the space currently used by 3 (on top of a subscription as well).