Ofcom clarifies Sky DTT proposal issues

Following Sky's announcement early this month to launch a range of subscription services on the digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform, Ofcom has confirmed that it will consult on any such proposals.

The regulator said it had received a series of requests for clarity on the regulatory process regarding the proposed launch.

Sky’s announcement noted that the launch of the new service will be subject to approval by Ofcom including the necessary variations to licences held by Sky and National Grid Wireless, which provides Sky with DTT transmission and multiplexing services.

Ofcom says the issues that would require consultation are likely to include the impact on consumers of Sky's proposal to use MPEG4 compression technology via new set-top boxes, in order to increase the amount of content which can be carried.

The regulator says it would need to assess the "potential benefit of a rapid migration from the current compression standard MPEG2 to MPEG4", which will ultimately increase the number of channels available on digital terrestrial television, but would need to consider the "detriment associated with a reduction in the number of channels received by existing set-top boxes or digital televisions."

Ofcom has also foreseen the risk that existing set-top boxes or digital televisions might be incompatible with multiplexes broadcast using a combination of MPEG2 and MPEG4 coding, and that such risks could impact on consumer confidence in the digital switchover process.

It will also consider whether any variation to the current channel line-up might "unacceptably diminish the appeal of the channels to a variety of tastes and interests", and whether a reduction in the current range of free-to-air channels would be compensated for by the proposed introduction of the new pay television channels.

Sky has said that by introducing new services it would remove Sky News, Sports News and Sky Three from the DTT platform.

Any change to existing licence conditions or the need to include any new licence conditions to ensure fair and effective competition for the benefit of consumers, will also be looked at.

The content of the consultation and its timing, normally 10 weeks, will be announced once a request for an approval has been received by Ofcom.