The BBC and Crown Castle, the consortium which this morning won the licence to operate the three DTT multiplexes vacated by ITV Digital, have said they are "delighted" at the ITC's decision.

"This is a fresh start for digital television in the UK and the best outcome for viewers," said BBC Director-General Greg Dyke. "It won't be an easy task - the platform has been through a major crisis - but we believe that a simple, entirely free-to-view digital option has the best chance of success with consumers."

Peter Abery, President and MD of Crown Castle, added: "We are delighted by this decision from the ITC. We will now be working closely with the BBC to get the digital terrestrial platform, free from the technical problems that dogged ITV Digital, back up and running as quickly as possible."

A Sky spokesman said: "BSkyB welcomes the ITC's decision to award the DTT licences to the BBC and Crown Castle. By contributing three Sky channels to the DTT platform, we look forward to participating in a strong and diverse line-up of free-to-air services."

More on the ITC's decision can be found here.