Freesat plans to open up its platform to pay as you go players in the future.
However, it will, according to its strategy director Giles Cottle, remain at its heart a free service.
Freesat currently reaches 1.7 million households, or 7% of the UK population, and has a very low churn rate.
Cottle said that FTA viewers are huge catchup-TV consumers and indeed many watch pay VOD via devices such as smart TVs and Xboxes.
In percentage terms, more watch online VOD than do pay subscribers.
Cottle was of the view that consumers will be intelligent enough to realise any on demand service they receive will be from a third party rather than Freesat itself.
Its aim, or vision of the future, is to create a hybrid platform that lets viewers watch what they want and when they want.
The TVOD element of the service will consist of well-known, mainstream content.