Ofcom to Investigate Pay-TV Market

LONDON, March 20: British
media regulator Ofcom is set to begin an investigation into the U.K.’s pay-TV
market, following consumer group complaints about the loss of Sky’s flagship
channels on Virgin Media Television.

Ofcom’s investigation will
cover subscription and video-on-demand television services on all platforms:
cable, digital terrestrial television, satellite and TV over DSL. It will be
concerned with features of the market, including control over content, ownership
of distribution platforms, retail subscriber bases and vertical integration.
After this assessment, Ofcom will decide whether to make a market reference to
the Competition Commission.

Under a separate process,
Ofcom is looking into BSkyB’s acquisition of a 17.9 percent shareholding in
ITV.