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[stevie]

This could prove very interesting....

BSkyB should be forced to make its premium sports and film channels available to rival broadcasters, watchdog Ofcom has proposed.

Ofcom said such a move may be a "most appropriate way of ensuring fair and effective competition".

BSkyB has immediately rejected the proposal, saying it will "use all available legal avenues", and that it "fundamentally" disagreed with Ofcom.

Ofcom has asked interested parties to respond to the proposals by 18 August.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8120296.stm

[chrissie]

Yes very interesting....wonder what will come of it.  Mind you, have just rec'd a letter this morning from them saying the subs are going up in a couple of months  plus as the government are bringing back the 17½% VAT again in January 2010....it will go up even further then...SCREAM!

[HPsauce]

the government are bringing back the 17½% VAT again in January 2010

Which everyone derided as making no difference at all when it was reduced.......
I bet the story will be different in January ("Tax rise cripples economy" in the headlines, etc. etc.) 

[kitz]

Does anyone else find this latest news rather ironic?

------------------------------------

Ofcom said such a move may be a "most appropriate way of ensuring fair and effective competition".

deja vu - BT

BSkyB has immediately rejected the proposal, saying it will "use all available legal avenues", and that it "fundamentally" disagreed with Ofcom

Did sky object when BT had to open up the local loop.. or did they take advantage of it to become one of the major adsl players.

The watchdog said it proposed that BSkyB would have to offer the subscription channels to its rival broadcasters at "regulated prices".

Wonder if thats what they are afraid of..  for a long time it was OFCOM (who remembers the MST?) that made and kept BTw prices so high.. and why even today LLU providers are able to offer adsl at a lower price than BTw. - Unless its a market 3 exchange and how many years did it take before ofcom designated BTw could reduce their pricing on those exchanges.

I bet sky are quite literally bricking it.

"The proposal to force Sky to wholesale its content is welcome, but we now need Ofcom to step up the pace and to enforce this rigorously," said Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT Retail.

ooooooooh..  tit for tat!
Simply reverse BT/SkyMedia for ADSL/Satellite