BT is going to dump its promotion of Sky following the broadcaster's purchase of BT rival Easynet.

Sky's latest purchase, which is viewed as the company positioning itself to compete with a stronger cable presence in the UK once NTL and Telewest merged, will also put it into direct competition with BT.

The purchase of Easynet will give Sky the ability to deliver TV not only via satellite but by broadband. It seems likely that Sky will use the broadband offering to deliver services such as video on demand, which are currently being rolled out by NTL and Telewest. However, as DS reported back in June, BT plans to roll out its own TV-over-broadband services next year.