New £20 card replaces free BBC 'solus'

Published Wednesday, Oct 22 2003, 23:44 BST | By Steven Smith

A last-minute deal has been struck which will keep ITV/C4 and C5 on-air for non-Sky subscribers, but viewers will have to pay more than £20 for a new viewing card.

Sports and tourism minister Richard Caborn announced yesterday in parliament that a deal had been made to provide special viewing cards to the estimated 600,000 non-Sky subscribers who were due to lose viewing of ITV, Channel 4 and five later this year.

Since the BBC abandoned Sky's encryption system earlier this year, it has stopped paying for the solus cards which allow non-subscribers to receive the free terrestrial channels via satellite. The commercial broadcasters will now contribute "hundreds of thousands of pounds", but viewers are likely to have to pay - for the first time - for the card that allows them to view the free channels.

"Good progress is being made and the broadcasters are close to a solution. I am able to announce you today very good news: they have now made a deal", Mr Caborn said yesterday afternoon, during a parliamentary recess.

He went on to say: "All the details are not finalised yet, but we already know that those people who currently have a non-subscription satellite viewing card and who wish to continue receiving the commercially funded public service channels without paying a subscription to Sky or another pay-TV broadcaster will be able to get a new card."

The new cards are likely to cost upwards of £20 for a new card, which would last for at least two years. Sky have reportedly promised not to disable the existing cards until the scheme was up and running.

The move will see those currently opting for free viewing, having to fork out the extra money to receive the channels they can currently get for free via their aerial. Many opt for the current free digital service because of the higher quality offered via satellite, but may object to paying for the new card.

Affected viewers will begin receiving on-screen messages from next week onwards, advising them to call a special number to arrange for a new card.