ITV, BSkyB Discuss Pay Options

LONDON: ITV is said to have opened discussions with BSkyB about moving its free-to-air digital channels to a subscription model.

The move would take ITV’s three digital channels—ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4—off Freeview. Switching the digital channels to pay would mean losing distribution in some 10 million homes that receive digital TV on their main set via Freeview, relying instead on Sky, which has roughly 9.3 million subscribers. The move back into pay TV could help ITV reduce its dependence on advertising. The broadcaster expects ad revenues to be down about 16 percent in the first six months of 2009 compared to the year-ago period.

The free-to-air strategy has helped make ITV2, the youth-oriented entertainment channel that airs shows such as Britain’s Got More Talent and American Idol, the most watched non-sports digital channel in Britain. ITV3 focuses on classic ITV dramas such as Inspector Morse and ITV4 is home to more male-skewing programming such as live football.