6 September 2005
Speculation is rife that ITV is trying to form a partnership with the BBC to bring out a free-to-air satellite digital TV service.
The report, in the Daily Telegraph, says that ITV wants to develop the service because its channels are currently broadcast by Sky, and it is said to consider the £17 million encryption charge too high.
A joint collaboration with the BBC would allow the entertainment provider to supply viewers with free digital TV once they had bought a set-top box and satellite dish.
Freeview, the free digital TV service launched by the BBC and other channels, is very popular and the Telegraph speculates that a BBC-ITV venture along similar lines could dent Sky's digital TV market share.
Paul Richards, a media analyst at Numis Securities, told the Business Online: "In our view, ITV now has a coherent multichannel strategy which neatly segments the audience and is therefore well placed to pick up a sizeable proportion of the audiences lost by ITV1, albeit at lower cost per thousands when monetised into advertising."
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