BBC Admits It May Lose Prominence On BSkyB

The BBC has admitted that it may not to able to force BSkyB to carry its channels at the top of its electronic programming guide (EPG), following a disagreement caused by the Corporation’s decision to withdraw from BSkyB’s digital satellite service (see BBC Terminates Sky Carriage Deal).

Earlier this week the BBC said that it would take its case to the Independent Television Commission, claiming that the TV watchdog’s regulations required public service broadcasters to be given a position of due prominence on BSkyB’s EPG (see BBC And BSkyB Set To Take Digital Disagreement To ITC).

However, in a briefing note prepared for the House of Lords, the BBC reportedly concedes that BSkyB could legally consign the regional variations of its main channels to obscure parts of its on-screen channel menu, in a move that could damage the BBC’s viewing figures in Sky homes.

In a note to peers, leaked to the Guardian, the BBC states: “The current EPG regulations do not guarantee that viewers should be able to access the right regional version of the public service channels provided for them, where they would expect to find them on the EPG.”

BSkyB is threatening to remove the BBC from its current 101 and 102 position unless it signs a new conditional access contract. However, the BBC is in discussions to solve the problems and is understood to have given BSkyB until Monday to provide a time table on how to move forward.

The BBC claims that its decision to withdraw from the BSkyB service will save it around £85 million in fees over five years. Analysts suggest that the BBC’s decision is unlikely to have any material effect on BSkyB (see BBC’s Exit From Carriage Deal Will Not Hurt Sky).

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk BSkyB: 0207 705 3000 www.sky.com

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