Virgin Media and BSkyB resume talks on channel carriage

摘要

Virgin Media and BSkyB have resumed negotiations over carriage of the Sky basic-tier channels on cable and the terms under which Virgin Media's channels are carried on Sky Digital, as the two companies seek to avoid a court showdown later this year. The move by Virgin Media could pave the way for the sale of Virgin Media TV, the channels division formerly known as Flextech, as the cable operator looks to raise cash and focus on the distribution side of its business. It is understood that talks on channel carriage are at a very preliminary stage but, if an agreement is reached, would lead to the return to cable of channels including Sky One, Sky News and Sky Sports News. These were withdrawn by BSkyB a year ago after Virgin refused to pay the price demanded. In return, Virgin Media would seek to improve the terms of its deal for the carriage of the Virgin Media TV channels on Sky Digital. Virgin Media renewed a carriage agreement last year for its channels - including Living TV, Bravo, Trouble and Challenge - in a deal worth around ￡5 million a year, a reduction of about ￡30 million a year compared with the previous contract. It might seek a per-subscriber fee for the carriage of Virgin One, its general-entertainment channel, which launched last October on cable, satellite and digital-terrestrial television. But the fact that the channel is free-to-air on Freeview might make it difficult for BSkyB to treat it as a pay proposition.