ITV has said that charges for carriage of its channels on the Sky platform would has create “almost pure profit” for BSkyB. In a submission to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s select committee for the Government’s White Paper, the network said that it would have to pay over £20m a year for ITV and ITV2 to be carried on the BSkyB platform.
“Given that the marginal cost of carrying an additional broadcaster is minimal this would represent almost pure profit for Sky. Money that could be better spent by ITV on content would go straight to a rival broadcaster simply because it has monopoly control of the essential facilities needed to access satellite viewers,” the submission read.
In the past ITV refused to let its channels by carried on the Sky platform, in an attempt to entice subscribers to the ONdigital platform, which is joint-owned by Carlton and Granada. When this led to tumbling viewing figures for ITV in Sky homes, however, the network entered into negotiations for a carriage deal.
Sky defended its charges and said to describe it as pure profit for the group was wrong.
