Ofcom has said it has a number of concerns about competition in the pay-TV sector. Opening its consultation, spurred by the March complaint against BSkyB by BT, Top Up TV, Setanta and Virgin Media, the regulator said it would investigate whether vertically-integrated firms had the incentive to make their premium content available to other retailers and platform operators.
Although the pay-TV consultation is widely seen as an investigation into BSkyB, some of the elements could equally apply to the complainants themselves.
Ofcom will also look at the wholesale prices of premium content and the enforced buy-through of basic channels to purchase a premium package.
Responses from the industry are now being sought ahead of a further consultation in the spring.
