Ofcom to review wider distribution of Sky Sports channels

Ofcom has today published a consultation on pay TV regulation, which questions whether Sky should offer its Sky Sports 1 and 2 channels to other pay TV providers to “ensure fair and effective competition in the UK’s pay TV sector remains appropriate.”

Ofcom’s assessment indicates that Premier League and Champions League football are key content likely to be capable of influencing consumers’ choice of pay TV retailer.

Sky currently holds over 75% of live rights to Premier League football and has more than 80% of market revenues from the supply of key sports channels.

Ofcom has said that the content Sky has is likely to influence the purchasing decisions of a sizeable proportion of high-value customers. Retailers that do not have access to this content would find it more difficult to compete for these customers.

The review also looks at BT’s place in the market, which currently holds around 25% of live Premier League rights, generating between 10% and 20% of revenues.

Ofcom states that BT may also have incentives to limit distribution of its key sports content; but given the amount of content rights it currently holds and its market position, it is less clear that limiting distribution of its sports channels would harm competition.

Further steps are to be outlined by Ofcom in a second phase of review in 2015.