Virgin Media has accused ITV of trying to renegotiate its contract in a bid to increase profits.
The X-Factor broadcaster wants £80 million per year in retransmission fees for its presence on the cablenet. Talks have been ongoing since the summer, but have now been put on hold until the arrival of new ITV chief executive early next month.
3.7 million homes could be effected if the plug is pulled, though many may also have terrestrial reception.
ITV argues that alongside other public service broadcasters, ITV should be paid by the pay-TV platforms to help fund investment in original UK content, particularly entertainment and drama.
The dispute relates to the first channel, branded ITV, and which continues to have a number of public service obligations set by Ofcom.
A spokesperson for ITV told Broadband TV News: “We already have commercial contracts in place for the supply of our digital channels and ITV Hub to Virgin Media and DCMS Minister Matt Hancock has said that he sees no reason why contractual arrangements can’t be put in place for the carriage of our main channel. We agree. A change in the law now allows us to negotiate with Virgin for payment for our main channel, and that is what we are attempting to do.”
But a Virgin Media spokesperson said neither Virgin Media nor its customers would be paying for channels that are meant to be free.
“The UK Government has been very clear and consistent – no fees for public service channels like ITV1.
“ITV signed up to a new ten year licence in 2015 that didn’t include these fees – it’s now trying to go back on this deal to prop up its profits. ITV is already fully compensated for this through its prominent position, with the audience reach and additional advertising revenue this delivers.
The dispute is complicated by the shareholding structure given that Virgin Media’s owner Liberty Global is also the largest shareholder in ITV.
It has been on-going since September 2014 when then chief executive Adam Crozier said the PSBs were providing a multi-million pound subsidy to Sky and Virgin Media.
