Ofcom has today announced it is to remove regulation requiring Sky to offer Sky Sports 1 and 2 on a ‘wholesale basis’.
The regulation, introduced in 2010 to ensure fair competition in the pay TV marketplace, previously prevented Sky from denying access to its sports channels through alternate providers.
However, last year Ofcom began a review to determine whether regulation remained appropriate and today ruled it no longer necessary in light both of BT’s £2bn investment in its own BT Sport offering and increased competition across the pay TV market.
However, some broadcast experts have warned that the relaxation of the regulation opens the door to Sky potentially withdrawing availability of Sky Sports from BT YouView (BT TV) customers.
“Any football fan should be troubled by this news,” said Dan Howdle at Cable.co.uk.
“Specifically when it comes to football the UK market is now split relatively equally between Sky Sports and BT Sport.
“When it comes to other types of broadcast – drama and entertainment programming, for example – more competition in the marketplace generally drives down prices. However, since football is a finite resource, the same rules do not apply.”
Football fans can currently subscribe to BT TV and receive Sky Sports as an add-on or vice versa, and although often deemed expensive, is still the most economical way of seeing all fixtures and leagues.
Sky has not currently announced plans to withdraw availability of Sky Sports from BT TV customers, despite the removal of the regulation allowing them to do so.
In a statement, Sky said: “We are pleased that Ofcom has decided to remove the WMO condition. As the evidence demonstrates, we are, and have always been, more than happy to make our channels available on other platforms.”
