CNBC has switched off its encryption in the UK market, growing its footprint by two million to an estimated 11 million households.
The move means that of the 16 channels in the News section of the Sky EPG only Fox News and the Indian NDTV require a subscription. Other high profile channels, including Bloomberg and CNN, have previously opted to transmit in the clear and are now also available on the free-to-view platform Freesat.
“Our decision to become a free-to-air channel in the UK is part of our strategy to aggressively grow our distribution across EMEA in 2010,” said a CNBC spokesperson. “Businesses receiving the channel and re-distributing it to multiple users are still required to have a viewing licence from CNBC.”
The spokesperson added that no decision had been taken on whether CNBC would itself join Freesat.
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