Sky Could Prove Problematic For Freesat
The BBC and ITV’s nationally available free-to-view satellite platform, Freesat, will have problems getting off the ground when it launches due to Sky’s dominance in the sector.
According to Top Up TV chief executive officer Nick Markham, who was speaking at the Broadcast Building Audience Loyalty conference last week, the service, which is set to launch this spring, will struggle to take off because Sky has already made the satellite business its own.
Markham said venture would find it hard to gain traction because Sky had already “sewn up satellite”.
He said: “Sky has spent years perfecting its service and made sure that every home with satellite TV had it through Sky devices. There is no way it will just sit back and allow a new competitor to just come along and take a slice of the market. If [Freesat] does that, Sky will just undercut it on price.”
He added it was important to remember that Sky had “earned its monopoly” in satellite, adding: “Nobody just it handed it over.”
Top Up TV, BT, Setanta and Virgin Media filed a joint submission to Ofcom last year as part of the regulator’s UK pay-TV market. The group accused BSkyB of running a “vicious circle” of control that crushes competition in the UK pay-TV market. Ofcom is expected to announce its findings early this year (see Ofcom Publishes Consultation On Pay TV Market).
Last April, the BBC Trust gave the BBC approval to go ahead with the launch of Freesat, which is said to offer up to 200 channels plus digital satellite interactivity and high definition capability (see Freesat Gets BBC Trust Approval).
Mark Thompson, BBC director-general, said: “The BBC’s objective in launching Freesat is to support Digital Switchover by providing another way for licence payers to receive digital television channels and radio services, subscription free from the BBC and ITV.
“Its primary purpose is to drive digital take-up in analogue homes, particularly in those areas which are out of digital terrestrial coverage.
“Freesat also offers a trusted free-to-view digital upgrade path that gives licence payers all the benefits of digital television (notably high definition capability) guaranteed free of subscription.”
Freesat made senior appointments last November (see Freesat Makes Senior Appointments).
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