BSkyB And Telewest In Four Year Carriage Deal

BSkyB has secured a deal to supply Telewest with three basic-tier channels for the next four years.

The deal will see Telewest broaden distribution of BSkyB’s flagship Sky One channel to all its digital and analogue customers with Essential, Essential Plus and Supreme packages. Telewest subscribers will continue to have access to Sky News and will receive Sky Sports News as part of the basic starter-package for the first time.

Commenting on the deal, BSkyB’s commercial director, Martin Goswami, said: “This agreement achieves our goal of long-term cable distribution for Sky’s most popular basic-tier channels and we are delighted that Sky One will increase its reach in cable homes.”

Charles Burdick, managing director of Telewest, added: “This deal represents better value for our customers and demonstrates a strong working relationship with Sky that we will continue to build on in the future.”

The latest Trends In Television Report from the IPA indicates that the growth of non-terrestrial viewing may have halted, with the combined non-terrestrial channels seeing their overall share of viewing fall from 21.4% in the first quarter of 2002, to 21.3% in the second quarter of this year (see IPA Trends In TV Report Reflects ITV’s World Cup Weakness).

BSkyB: 020 7705 3000 www.sky.com Telewest Broadband: 0800 953 5383 www.telewest.co.uk

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