The OFT, following complaints from some cable operators, is to conduct a review of BSkyB’s position in the pay TV market. The review will be confined to issues relating to the supply of programming and related services at the wholesale level in the UK, and is expected to take six months.
The main area of contention is BSkyB’s practise of grouping a number of channels together, (bundling). Also included in the review will be the informal undertakings given by BSkyB in March of this year related to cable complaints. The OFT is also separately evaluating, under the Restrictive Practices Act, the terms of various agreements to televise sports.
In a formal reaction to the news, BSkyB has pledged to co-operate fully with the new investigation although they do not believe any new evidence has been presented to the OFT, and that the concerns of the few cable companies in question are not shared by a number of larger cable companies. Sam Chisholm, Chief Executive of BSkyB said, “BSkyB has a good relationship with the vast majority of cable operators in this country.”
BSkyB: 0171 705 3000
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