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{{Infobox Company |
company_name = British Sky Broadcasting Group plc |
company_logo = [[Image:Sky Logo 2004 Transparent.png|200px]] |
company_type = [[Public company|Public]] ([[London Stock Exchange|LSE]]: [http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BSY.L BSY]) |
company_slogan = Believe In Better |
foundation = 1990; [[British Satellite Broadcasting|BSB]] 1986 and [[Sky Television plc|Sky]] 1989 |
location = {{flagicon|UK}} [[London]], [[England]], [[UK]] |
key_people = [[James Murdoch (media executive)|James Murdoch]] ([[Chairman]]) <br> Jeremy Darroch ([[CEO]]) (pending)|
num_employees = 13,087 (2007) |
industry = Media |
products = Pay TV services<br>Programming |
revenue = {{profit}}[[Pound sterling|£]]4.551 billion (2007)|
operating_income = {{profit}} [[Pound sterling|£]]724 million (2007)|
net_income = {{profit}} [[Pound sterling|£]]499 million (2007)|
homepage = [http://www.sky.com/corporate www.sky.com/corporate]
}}
'''British Sky Broadcasting''' ('''BSkyB''' — [[Sky Television plc|Sky Television]] and [[British Satellite Broadcasting|BSB]]) is a company that operates [[Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)|Sky Digital]], a subscription television service in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] and [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]. It produces TV content, and owns several TV channels. More than a third of the equity is owned by [[News Corporation]], an [[Australia]]n/[[United States|American]] company chaired by [[Rupert Murdoch]]); News Corporation's precise shareholding fluctuates due to share options and buy backs and was 39% at February 2007.<ref>{{cite news
| last = Shah
| first = Saeed
| title = Minister takes on Murdoch over Sky stake in ITV
| publisher = [[The Independent]]
| date = [[2007-02-27]]
| url = http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2308440.ece
| accessdate = 2007-03-05 }}</ref> [[2008|As of]] 31 March 2008 it had 8,888,000<ref>{{PDFlink|[http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/10/104/104016/items/166570/PR_280706.pdf British Sky Broadcasting Group plc, Results for the twelve months ended 30 June 2006]|229&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 235288 bytes -->}}</ref> direct to home customers in the UK and Ireland. As of the same date it also had 3,294,000 indirect customers through the cable operator [[Virgin Media]] in the UK, and a further 604,000 indirect cable customers on [[UPC Ireland]] in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]. Due to a financial dispute, Virgin Media's inclusion of BSkyB's basic channels in its most popular "M", "L" and "XL" packages ended at the end of February 2007, and is no indication of this situation changing in the near future. However, [[Sky Sports]] and [[Sky Movies]] channels are still offered to Virgin Media customers as premium services.

==History==
The [[SES Astra|Astra]] satellite network began with the launch of [[Astra 1A]] in 1989. With the launch of more Astra satellites from 1991 onward BSkyB was able to begin expanding its services (the Astra satellites were all orbitally co-located so that they could be received using the same dish).

Sky does not own any of the satellites it has used since withdrawing service from the [[Marcopolo]] craft; the Astra satellites are owned and operated by [[SES Astra]] and [[Eurobird 1]] by [[Eutelsat]]. Sky has shared its orbital position with other pay-TV systems in the past.

===Origins===
{{see|Sky Television plc|British Satellite Broadcasting}}

===Early years===
[[Image:UK satellite TV evolution vector.svg|thumb|250px|Evolution of UK satellite television]]
By 1990 both Rupert Murdoch's Sky Television and the BSB alliance were beginning to struggle with the burden of massive losses. The collapse of BSB in November 1990 led to a merger, which was in effect a takeover by Sky.

The new company was called British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) but marketed as Sky, [[Marco Polo House]] was sold, BSB's channels were largely scrapped in favour of Sky's and the [[marcopolo|Marco Polo satellites]] were run down and eventually sold in favour of the [[SES Astra|Astra system]] (Marcopolo I in December 1993 to [[NSAB]] of Sweden and Marcopolo II in July 1992 to [[Telenor]] of Norway. Both companies had already one HS376 in orbit at the time). The merger may have saved Sky financially; despite its popularity, Sky had very few major advertisers to begin with. Acquiring BSB's healthier advertising contracts and equipment apparently solved the company's problems.

===Move to Digital===
The launch of the first Astra 2 series satellite at a new orbital position, 28.2° east, in 1997 (followed by more Astra satellites as well as [[Eutelsat]]'s [[Eurobird 1]] at 28.5°E), enabled the company to launch a new all-digital service, [[Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)|Sky Digital]], with the potential to carry hundreds of television and radio channels. The Astra 2 fleet at 28.2° east maintains a [[geostationary orbit]] 35,600 km from earth and was built by [[Hughes Electronics|Hughes]] (now [[Boeing Satellite Systems]]) and [[EADS Astrium|Astrium]] (now [[EADS Astrium]]).

===Timeline===
*1989 5 February — Sky television launches DTH UK service via [[SES Astra|Astra]] satellite
*1990 — Sky subscribers reach 1 million
*1990 November — British Sky Broadcasting formed by merger of [[Sky Television plc|Sky Television]] and [[British Satellite Broadcasting]] (BSB). [[Rupert Murdoch|Murdoch]] the majority shareholder through [[News International]], BSB partners [[Pearson PLC|Pearson]] and [[Granada plc|Granada]] become minority shareholders through BSB Holdings Limited (BSBH)
*1991 — Of BSB's five channels; [[Now (TV channel)|Now]] news programmes merged with Sky News and [[Sky Arts (defunct channel)|Sky Arts]] created to use Now programming, [[Galaxy (television)|Galaxy]] merged with Sky One, [[The Sports Channel]] is rebranded to Sky Sports soon after the merger, [[The Movie Channel (UK)|The Movie Channel]] is maintained, [[The Power Station (TV channel)|The Power Station]] is withdrawn later. [[Sky1|Sky One]], [[Sky News]] and [[Sky Movies]] maintained but [[Eurosport]] is withdrawn. Eurosport later went free-to-air across Europe on ASTRA after adding more adverts.
*1992 July — BSkyB sells the former BSB Marcopolo II satellite to [[Telenor]]
*1992 — BSkyB signs exclusive live television rights deal with the [[Premier League|FA Premier League]]
*1992 31 December — BSkyB ceases transmissions to Marcopolo I satellite
*1993 — "[[Sky Multichannels|Sky Multichannel]]" packages launched
*1993 — December — BSkyB sells the former BSB Marcopolo I satellite to [[NSAB]]
*1994 — 17% of BSkyB is floated on the London and New York stock exchanges
*1994 — Five more channels launch, including [[Sky Sports|Sky Sports 2]]
*1995 — Six more channels launched including [[The History Channel UK|History Channel]] and [[Disney Channel (UK & Ireland)|Disney Channel]]
*1995 — BSkyB enter the [[FTSE 100]] Index
*1996 — BSkyB signs an extension of its Premier League rights for £670 million
[[Image:Skylogo96.png|right|150px|Sky logo from 1996]][[Image:Skylogo97.png|right|150px|Sky logo from 1997]]
*1998 30 August — First of a new generation of [[SES Astra|Astra]] satellites launched, paving way for digital satellite television. [[Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)|Sky Digital]] launches on 1 October
*1999 — [[Vivendi SA]] becomes sole shareholder of BSBH, which held 11.8% of BSkyB at the time. It also acquired the shareholding of [[Pathé]] through merger, bringing its total shareholding to 22% (as of 2001). BSkyB Chairman [[Jérôme Seydoux]] forced to resign due to sale of Pathé's interest; Murdoch takes Chairmanship to prevent Vivendi acquiring it (as it would be entitled to)
*2001 — BSkyB signs 5 millionth subscriber. Analogue service discontinued
*2001 — [[Sky+]] introduced: A set top box/digital video recorder hybrid
*2001 — December — [[Vivendi Universal]] sells part of its shareholding comprising 8% of the company, followed by the remaining 14% in May 2002
*2002 — BSkyB takes an equal share of [[Freeview (United Kingdom)|Freeview]], in partnership with the [[BBC]] and Crown Castle (now part of [[National Grid plc|National Grid]])
*2003 — [[James Murdoch (media executive)|James Murdoch]] elected as CEO, replacing Tony Ball
*2003 — Sky subscribers reach 7.5 million
*2003 — Sky acquires the television series ''[[24 (TV series)|24]]'' from [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] which was previously shown on the [[BBC]]
*2005 — BSkyB purchase network provider Easynet for £211m ($373.1m).<ref>{{ cite web
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4363036.stm
| title = BSkyB swoops on internet provider
| date= 2005-10-21
| publisher = [[BBC News]]}}</ref>
*2005 — Sky launches Sky by Broadband, a service available to existing movie and sports service subscribers that allows them to download movies and sports clips direct to their home computer. The service is made available free of charge
*2006 — [[Sky+ HD|Sky HD]] launches on 22 May, with a line-up of 10 [[High-definition television|high definition]] channels
*2006 — Sky acquires Mykindaplace.com to expand its internet presence
*2006 — Sky acquires Aura Sports Ltd to expand its internet media sales presence
*2006 — Sky achieves CarbonNeutral status<ref>[http://www.theclimategroup.org/index.php?pid=792 The Climate Group]</ref>
*2006 — Sky launches and allows pre-registering of its new broadband service
*2006 — Sky is listed as one of the applicants for the licence to manage [[Digital terrestrial television in Ireland|Ireland's digital terrestrial television network]]
*2006 — Sky acquires Season 3 and 4 of ''[[Lost (TV series)|Lost]]'' in a multi-million pound deal with [[Buena Vista International Television]] (previous series were shown on [[Channel 4]])
*2006 — Sky acquires 17.9% stake in [[ITV plc|ITV]], Britain's largest free-to-air commercial broadcaster.
*2006 — Sky rebrands [[video on demand|VoD]] services, such as Sky By Broadband, as Sky Anytime, adding US imports to on-demand content.
*2007 — Sky announces plans to launch pay channels on the digital terrestrial platform.
*2007 — [[Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]] [[Alistair Darling]] asks media regulator [[Ofcom]] to investigate Sky's purchase of a stake in [[ITV plc]].<ref>{{cite news
| last = Tryhorn
| first = Chris
| title = Darling steps into Sky–ITV row
| publisher = [[The Guardian]]
| date = [[2007-02-26]]
| url = http://media.guardian.co.uk/bskyb/story/0,,2021890,00.html
| accessdate = 2007-03-05 }}
</ref>
*2007 — Sky's increased price demands causes [[Virgin Media]] to not renew the contract to provide Sky basic channels (effective from 1 March 2007) after negotiations falls through.
*2007 — BSkyB acquire electronics manufacturer [[Amstrad]] for a reported £125 million.<ref>{{ cite web
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6923517.stm
| title = BSkyB agrees £125m Amstrad deal
| date= 2007-07-31
| accessdate = 2007-07-31
| publisher = BBC News}}
</ref>
*2007 29 October — Sky Broadband reach 1 million customer mark.<ref>{{ cite web
| url = http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKWLA199720071029?rpc=401&
| title = BSkyB passes 1 million broadband customers
| date= 2007-10-29
| accessdate = 2007-10-29
| publisher = [[Reuters]]}}
</ref>
*2007 29 October — BSkyB offer to give up part of their ITV voting rights after a ruling from the [[Competition Commission]].<ref>{{ cite web
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7067581.stm
| title = BSkyB offers ITV vote surrender
| date= 2007-10-29
| accessdate = 2007-10-29
| publisher = BBC News}}
</ref>

==Corporate information==
===Management===
[[Image:All Sky viewing figures.png|right|301px|thumb|Total BSkyB viewing figures 1995-2008]]Rupert Murdoch's [[News International]] (a wholly owned subsidiary of [[News Corporation]]) currently has a 38% stake in the company. News Corp also fully owns [[Sky Italia]], about 78% of [[New Zealand]]'s [[SKY Network Television|SKY Network Television Limited]] and Sky FBiH of [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]].

The first [[chief executive officer|CEO]] of BSkyB was [[Sam Chisholm]], who was CEO of Sky TV before the merger. Chisholm served in this position until 1997. He was followed by [[Mark Booth]] who was credited with leading the company through the introduction of Sky Digital. [[Tony Ball]] was appointed in 1999 and completed the company's analogue to digital conversion. He is also credited with returning the company to profit and bringing subscriber numbers to new heights. In 2003 Ball announced his resignation and [[James Murdoch (media executive)|James Murdoch]], son of Rupert Murdoch was announced as his successor. This appointment caused allegations of [[nepotism]] from shareholders.<ref>{{cite news
| last = Bell
| first = Emily
| title = Rupert and the joys of nepotism
| publisher = [[The Guardian]]
| date = [[2003-11-05]]
| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1078016,00.html
| accessdate = 2007-03-06}}</ref>

On 7 December 2007 it was announced that [[Rupert Murdoch]] would be stepping down as BSkyB's Non-Executive [[Chair (official)|Chairman]] and would be replaced by his Son, [[James Murdoch (media executive)|James]]. It was also announced that James would be stepping down as [[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]] of BSkyB and will be replaced by Jeremy Darroch <ref>[http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=104016&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1085142 BSkyB - Investor Relations - Press Release<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===Organisation===
====Direct subsidiaries====
*'''British Sky Broadcasting Ltd.''' <br>Operating company for the Sky pay-television service.
*'''Sky Television Ltd.'''<br>The original [[Sky Television plc]], now a holding company
*'''Sports Internet Group Ltd.'''<br>Sports content and online betting services.
*'''British Interactive Broadcasting Holdings Ltd.''' <br>[[Interactive television]] services, formerly an alliance of BSkyB, [[BT Group]], [[HSBC]] and [[Matsushita]].
*'''[[Easynet|Easynet Ltd.]]'''<br>Network infrastructure for [[Sky Broadband]], [[UK Online]], and third party corporate customers.
*'''Mykindaplace.com.'''<br>Being both an agency and a media owner, run many successful sites.
*'''Aura Sports Ltd'''<br>Media Sales Agency, sells advertising on the majority of premiership football club websites, as well as other major sports.
*'''Aura Play Ltd'''<br> Another Media Sales Agency, sells advertising across a number of websites in the music and entertainment sector.

====Joint ventures====
*[[Nickelodeon UK]] (and related channels) (40%)
*[[The History Channel UK|The History Channel (UK)]] (and related channels) (50%)
*[[Paramount Comedy 1]] & [[Paramount Comedy 2|2]] (UK) (25%)
*[[Sky News Australia|Australian News Channel Pty Limited]] (33.3%) Operates [[Sky News Australia]] with [[Seven Network]] and [[Consolidated Media Holdings|PBL Media]]
*[[Manchester United TV|MUTV Limited]] (33.3%)
*Chelsea Digital Media (35%) - owner of [[Chelsea TV]].
*[[National Geographic Channel (UK)|National Geographic Channel]] (50%)
*[[Attheraces|Attheraces Holdings Limited]] (47.5%)
*[[ITV plc]] (17.9%)
*[[Freeview (United Kingdom)|Freeview]] (25%)
*[[Bakrie & Brothers]] (5%)

====Others====
Other subsidiaries include Sky In-Home Service Ltd which installs Sky equipment, and the Luxembourg based British Sky Broadcasting SA which is the company which leases transponders on [[SES Astra|Astra]] satellites.

===Financial Performance===
[[Image:BSkyB subsciption income.png|BSkyB subscription income (NPV) and active customers to Q4 2006, [[Ofcom]] UK figures, excludes ROI]]
{| class="wikitable"
!Year ended
!Turnover (£m)
!Profit/(loss)<br>before tax (£m)
!Net profit/<br>(loss)(£m)
|-
| 30 June 2007
| 4,551
| 815
| 499<ref>{{cite web|url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=104016&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=1032447&highlight=|title=BSkyB - Corporate - Press Release|accessdate=2007-08-12}}</ref>
|-
| 30 June 2006
| 4,148
| 798
| 551
|-
| 30 June 2005
| 4,048
| 631
| 425
|-
| 30 June 2004
| 3,656
| 480
| 322
|-
| 30 June 2003
| 3,186
| 128
| 190
|-
| 30 June 2002
| 2,776
| (1,276)
| (1,383)
|-
| 30 June 2001
| 2,306
| (515)
| (539)
|-
| 30 June 2000
| 1,847
| (263)
| (272)
|-
| 30 June 1999
| 1,545
| (389)
| (285)
|-
| 30 June 1998
| 1,434
| 271
| 249
|-
| 30 June 1997
| 1,270
| 314
| 288
|-
| 30 June 1996
| 1,008
| 257
| -
|-
| 30 June 1995
| 778
| 155
| -
|-
| 30 June 1994
| 550
| 93
| -
|-
| 30 June 1993
| 380
| (76)
| -
|-
| 30 June 1992
| 233
| (188)
| -
|-
| 30 June 1991
| 93
| (759)
| -
|}

===Locations===
The main headquarters are in [[Osterley]], [[London]]. Sky originated material is uplinked to the satellite from [[Chilworth, Hampshire|Chilworth]], outside [[Southampton]] (and from the BT owned [[Madley Communications Centre]] and [[London Teleport]] earthstations).

The largest concentration of Sky staff in the UK is in [[Scotland]]; the main areas being in [[Livingston, Scotland|Livingston]] and [[Dunfermline]]. These house Sky's contact centres as well as the IT departments, Finance departments and Field Operations. Other contact centres are located in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Glasgow.

==Competition==
The '''Ofcom Consumer Panel''' complained that the BskyB plan to operate pay TV services on [[Freeview (United Kingdom)|Freeview]] was "generating serious consumer detriment"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ofcomconsumerpanel.org.uk/nr/140307.htm|title=Consumer Panel asks Ofcom to step in to resolve Virgin and BSkyB dispute|date=2006-03-14}}</ref> and the '''National Consumer Council''' call the BSkyB plan "bad news for consumers,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncc.org.uk/cgi-bin/kmdb10.cgi/-load747560_nccviewcurrent.htm|title=NCC demands action on dispute between Virgin Media and BSkyB|date=2007-03-01}}</ref> combined with representations from [[BT Group|BT]], [[Setanta Sports|Setanta]], [[Top Up TV]], and [[Virgin Media]] has caused [[Ofcom]] to launch an investigation into the "features of the [UK pay TV] market, including control over content, ownership of distribution platforms, retail subscriber bases and [[vertical integration]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2007/03/nr_20070320|title=Market investigation into the pay TV industry|date=2007-03-20}}</ref>
===Virgin Media===
At present the other major pay-TV operator in the United Kingdom is the service provider [[Virgin Media]] (Rebranded in 2007 from ''NTL:Telewest''). [[Virgin Media]]'s cable network was also formed by numerous [[mergers]] and [[acquisitions]] over the last decade, with different cable companies having used different types of network and technology in their areas. This has made it difficult for the company to roll out new services across the UK quickly.

Virgin Media includes the [[Virgin Media Television]] production company which owns several channels, including a 50% stake in the [[UKTV]] network. The company's cable television service used to carry the majority of BSkyB's channels, making it one of BSkyB's most important customers as well as its biggest rival, however on 28 February 2007 BSkyB stopped offering their channel to Virgin Media Customers.

Like Sky, Virgin Media offers [[High-definition television]] (HDTV) services. However, the number of channels available is limited by BSkyB's refusal to allow the HDTV channels [[Sky HD#Channels|it owns]] to be broadcast by other companies. This situation is somewhat addressed, however, by the fact that Virgin can provide HDTV content using its [[Video on demand]] services and the fact that the [[V+]] HDTV-supplying box can [[Video scaler|upscale]] all of its received transmissions to near-HDTV quality.

On 1 March 2007, BSkyB removed its basic Sky channels from the Virgin Media service after requesting Virgin pay the company [[Pound sterling|£]]35,000,000, for the rights to show the channels, in what has been seen as an effort to move existing Virgin media customers to Sky. Virgin have refused outright to pay the sum, and, in a press release on Virgin Media's website, have said they will continue to "stand-up for the consumer" against, what has been seen, by all non-Murdoch owned British press, as "playground bully tactics". Recent print advertising for Sky however claims that Virgin media 'doubted the value' of the channels concerned, and implies the decision to drop the channels was that of Virgin Media. On 6 March 2007 Sky launched a radio advert urging Virgin customers to migrate to Sky to access their "favourite shows".

Virgin Media has now decided to take legal action in the hight court against British Sky Broadcasting for taking away their Sky Basic channels from Virgin media customers. Virgin still have the rights to televise Sky sports 1, 2, 3 & Sky Sports Xtra. They also still hold the rights to televise the [[Sky Movies]] channels.

===Television over ADSL services===
Sky is facing increased competition from telecommunications providers delivering pay television services over existing telephone lines using [[ADSL]]. Such providers are potentially able to offer "triple-play" or "quad-play" packages combining land-line telephone, broadband Internet, mobile telephone and pay television services.

In the final quarter of 2006, [[BT Group|BT]], the UK's biggest Telephone company, launched [[BT Vision]]. The BT Vision [[set-top box]], provides true Video on Demand (VoD) over BT's telephone lines using [[ADSL]]. The set-top-box complements the VoD component by providing access to the [[Freeview (United Kingdom)|Freeview]] [[digital terrestrial television]] service. It is expected that before the end of 2007, [[Virgin Media]] and [[Tiscali TV]] will have rolled out similar services to parts of the country not currently served by their cable networks. Additionally, [[Orange SA|Orange]] are also planning such a service.

To compete with these providers, in October 2005, BSkyB bought the [[broadband]] [[Internet Service Provider]] [[Easynet]] for £211 million. This acquisition has allowed BSkyB to recently start offering its "Sky Anytime on PC" service as well as a "[[Triple play (telecommunications)|triple play]]" package combining satellite television, land-line telephone and Broadband service.

===Digital Terrestrial Television===
BSkyB initially faced competition from the [[ONdigital]] [[digital terrestrial television]] service (later renamed [[ITV Digital]]). ITV Digital failed for numerous reasons, including, but not limited to numerous administrative and technical failures, nervous investors after a large down-turn in the advertising market and the dot com crash, and BSkyB's aggressive marketing and domination of premium sporting rights.

Sky was more receptive to ITV Digital's [[Free-to-air|FTA]] replacement, [[Freeview (United Kingdom)|Freeview]], in which it holds an equal stake with the [[BBC]], [[ITV plc|ITV]], [[Channel 4]] and [[National Grid Wireless]]. At the time of writing, three BSkyB channels are available on this platform: [[Sky News]], [[Sky3|Sky Three]], and [[Sky Sports News]]. Initially BSkyB provided [[Sky Travel]] to the service. However, this was replaced by [[Sky3|Sky Three]] on 31 October 2005, allowing BSkyB to air its exclusive licensed content with delays of between 12-18 months from their original air dates on [[Sky1|Sky One]].

[[Terrestrial television]] companies currently have limited bandwidth. This means that, at present, there is little or no option to offer HD services, until after the final analogue television services are switched off in 2012 freeing up substantial bandwidth.

In a response to the push towards Free to Air services such as [[freesat]] and [[Freeview (United Kingdom)|Freeview]], BSkyB has marketed its own free to view offering ([[Freesat from Sky]]).

On 8 February 2007, Sky announced its intention to replace its three free-to-air digital terrestrial channels with four subscription channels. It was proposed that these channels would offer a range of content from the Sky portfolio including sport (including English Premiership Football), movies, entertainment and news.<ref>{{cite news
| last = Oatts
| first =Joanne
| title = Sky to launch new DTT service
| publisher = [[Digital Spy]]
| date = [[2007-02-08]]
| url = http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/a42523/sky-to-launch-new-dtt-service.html
| accessdate = 2007-03-05 }}</ref> The announcement came a day after [[Setanta Sports]] confirmed that it would launch in March as a subscription service on the digital terrestrial platform, and on the same day that NTL's services rebranded as [[Virgin Media]]. However, industry sources believe Sky will be forced to shelve plans to withdraw its channels from Freeview and replace them with subscription channels, due to possible lost advertising revenue.<ref>{{cite news
| last = Quinn
| first = Ian
| title = Sky rethinks Freeview exit and football strategy
| publisher = [[Brand Republic]]
| date = [[2007-03-05]]
| url = http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/637103/Sky-rethinks-Freeview-exit-football-strategy/
| accessdate = 2007-03-05 }}</ref>

===Stake in ITV plc===

[[ITV plc]] has been the subject of a flurry of rumoured take-over and merger bids since it was formed. For example, on [[2006-11-09]], [[NTL]] announced that it had approached ITV plc about a proposed merger <ref>{{cite press release
| title = Ntl Incorporated Discussions with ITV plc
| publisher = [[NTL]]
| date = [[2006-11-09]]
| url = http://www.ntl.com/mediacentre/press/display.asp?id=874
| accessdate = 2006-12-06 }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release
| title = ITV and NTL 'in merger talks'
| publisher = ITV plc
| date = [[2006-11-09]]
| url = http://www.itvplc.com/itv/news/releases/pr2006/2006-11-09/
| accessdate = 2006-12-06 }}</ref>. The merger was effectively blocked by BSkyB on [[2006-11-17]] when it controversially bought a 17.9% stake in ITV plc for £940 million <ref>{{cite news
| last = Welsh
| first = James
| title = Sky buys 17.9% of ITV
| publisher = [[Digital Spy]]
| date = [[2006-11-17]]
| url = http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds39556.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-06 }}</ref>, a move that attracted anger from NTL shareholder [[Richard Branson]]<ref>{{cite news
| last = Wilkes
| first = Neil
| title = Sky/ITV: Branson statement in full
| publisher = [[Digital Spy]]
| date = [[2006-11-20]]
| url = http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds39642.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-06 }}</ref> and an investigation from media and telecoms regulator [[Ofcom]]<ref>{{cite news
| last = Welsh
| first = James
| title = Ofcom examines impact of Sky's ITV stake
| publisher = [[Digital Spy]]
| date = [[2006-11-21]]
| url = http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds39694.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-06 }}</ref>. On [[2006-12-06]], NTL announced that it had complained to the [[Office of Fair Trading]] about BSkyB's move. NTL stated that it had withdrawn its attempt to buy ITV plc, citing that it did not believe that there was any possibility to make a deal on favourable terms<ref>{{cite news
| last = Oatts
| first = Joanne
| title = NTL complains about Sky as it drops plans for ITV Ofcom
| publisher = [[Digital Spy]]
| date = [[2006-12-06]]
| url = http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds40409.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-06 }}</ref>. At the same time as the NTL bid, [[RTL Group|RTL]], the owner of [[Five (channel)|Five]], was also rumoured to be preparing a bid for ITV plc,<ref>{{cite news
| last = Oatts
| first = Joanne
| title = RTL to make ITV decision this week
| publisher = [[Digital Spy]]
| date = [[2006-11-16]]
| url = http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds39466.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-06 }}</ref> with the possibility of a stock-swap with BSkyB. The plan would see [[RTL Group|RTL]] acquiring BSkyB's stake in ITV plc (with the aim of further acquisitions of shares in the future) in exchange for BSkyB taking full control of [[Five (channel)|Five]]. However, no move from RTL has yet materialised so far.

==Future ==
[[Image:Sky minidish.JPG|thumb|right|Sky Digital "mini-dish"]]
''[[The Economist]]'' has suggested that News Corporation would eventually like to merge BSkyB with its US satellite operation, [[DirecTV]] and possibly its [[STAR TV (Asia)|STAR TV]] network to form a global satellite TV company{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. However, News Corporation has now sold its stake in [[DirecTV]]; in return for the sale Murdoch got [[John Malone]]'s stake in [[News Corp]]. Sky is also rumoured<!--Not rumored, Sky is a British company--> to be interested in adding [[NFL Sunday Ticket]] (currently available on DirecTV in the US).

===EPG===
Sky has developed a new version of its Sky Guide [[electronic programme guide]] (EPG) service, which includes new genres, easier access to channels, and a complete renumbering system. It also includes new hotkeys to get into new menus quicker. This is the biggest change to the Sky [[Electronic program guide|EPG]] since its launch in 1998.

===On Demand services===
{{main|Sky Anytime}}

'''Sky Anytime''' is the current brand for Sky's ''on-demand'' services currently available on TV ([[Sky+]] and [[Sky HD]]), PC and [[3G]] mobile phones.

===High Definition TV (HDTV)===
{{main|Sky+ HD}}
BSkyB launched its [[HDTV]] service, [[Sky HD]], on 22 May 2006. Leading up to the launch, Sky claimed that 40,000 people had signed up to the HD service. However, in the week before the launch rumours started to surface that Sky was having supply problems of its Set Top Box (STB) from manufacturer [[Thomson SA|Thomson]]. Starting on Thursday 18 May, and then all through the weekend before launch, people were reporting that Sky had either cancelled or rescheduled its installations. Finally, the BBC reported that 17,000 customers had been let down for the launch due to failed deliveries.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Sky HDTV launch runs into trouble
| publisher = [[BBC News]]
| date = [[2006-05-22]]
| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5003728.stm
| accessdate = 2007-03-05 }}</ref> Some customers reported installations were only cancelled on the day of the launch. The episode was widely seen as being very embarrassing for Sky, who until that point had been extremely conservative in new service launch schedules. The supply problems were resolved shortly after launch.

According to figures published by Sky, there were 498,000 subscribers to the Sky HD service by 30 June 2008.<ref>498,000 Sky+ HD customers by 30th June 2008 – [http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=104016&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=1181722 BSkyB results for the twelve months ended 30 June 2008]</ref>

===Sky Picnic===

{{main|Sky Picnic}}

Sky Picnic is a proposed pay TV service to launch on the digital terrestrial television platform in the United Kingdom from British Sky Broadcasting. The launch of the service is currently being held back due to a consultation process from the UK media regulator, Ofcom, announced on October 4, 2007.
Sky has submitted plans to Ofcom to put three free-to-air channels currently available on digital terrestrial television behind a pay-wall and market the new channels under the brand Picnic will offer subscribers premium Sky content, including [[Sky Sports|Sky Sports 1]], [[Sky Movies|Sky Movies Screen 1]] and [[Sky1]]. [[Disney Channel (UK)|Disney Channel]] is the first third-party broadcaster to join Picnic, second is
[[Discovery Channel]].

The service will initially comprise three [[MPEG-2]] video streams but will switch to [[MPEG-4]] and offer a fourth stream carrying [[Sky News]] 24/7 if Ofcom approves use of the more bandwidth-efficient compression format.

It currently offers [[Sky News]], [[Sky3]] and [[Sky Sports News]] on Freeview. Sky intends to launch a three-channel package using existing MPEG-2 technology, and wants to be able to bundle broadband and telephony products into the package. The first channel on the Picnic service would be a simulcast of [[Sky Sports|Sky Sports 1]]. The second would show [[Disney Channel (UK)|Disney Channel]] during the day and [[Sky Movies|Sky Movies SD1]] in the evening, and the third would offer [[Discovery Channel]] during the day and a simulcast of [[Sky1]] in the evening.

In September 2008, Sky announced that it was suspending the development of Picnic after failing to receive the support of [[Ofcom]], casting doubt on the future of the project. A spokesperson for [[BSkyB]] commented: "We want to invest in Picnic because it will be good for consumers and a good opportunity for Sky but the blunt truth is that Ofcom has spent 18 months looking at our proposals and there is no end in sight." <ref>{{cite web | title = BSkyB job losses expected as Picnic is shelved|author= Sweney, Mark|publisher =[[The Guardian]] | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/sep/12/bskyb.television|accessdate=2008-09-18}}</ref>

==Football rights==
BSkyB's purchase of broadcast rights for major sporting events, most importantly Premiership football, has been the bedrock of its success. The company paid over £300 million for the [[FA Premier League]] rights, beating the [[BBC]] and [[ITV]], and has had a monopoly of live matches since the inception of the Premier League in 1992. Murdoch has described sport as a "battering ram" for pay-television, providing a strong customer base.<ref>;{{cite news
| last =Douglas
| first = Torin
| title = Murdoch's rise to the top
| publisher = [[BBC News]]
| date = [[1999-03-12]]
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/03/99/murdochs_big_match/167937.stm
| accessdate = 2007-03-05 }}</ref>

However, following a lengthy legal battle with the European Commission, which deemed the exclusivity of the rights to be against the interests of competition and the consumer, BSkyB's monopoly will come to an end from the [[2007-08 in English football|2007–08 season]]. In May 2006 the Irish broadcaster [[Setanta Sports]] was awarded two of the six Premiership packages that the English FA offered to broadcasters. Sky picked up the remaining four for £1.3 billion.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Setanta joins Premiership action
| publisher = [[BBC News]]
| date = [[2006-05-05]]
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4975632.stm
| accessdate = 2007-03-05 }}
</ref>

BT offer a pay per view service of selected Premier League matches through their [[BT Vision]] service<ref>[http://sport.btvision.com/what/ What Do I Get? | Sport On Demand | BT Vision<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, and [[Virgin Media]] offer free highlights on the Virgin Media website. <ref>[http://www.virginmedia.com/sport/match-highlights.php Free match highlights - Sport - Virgin Media<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Set Top Boxes and conditional access==
Sky utilizes the [[VideoGuard]] pay-TV scrambling system owned by [[NDS Group|NDS]], a News Corporation subsidiary. There are tight controls over use of VideoGuard decoders; they are not available as stand-alone [[Digital Video Broadcasting|DVB]] CAMs ([[Conditional Access Modules]]). BSkyB has design authority over all digital satellite receivers capable of receiving their service. The receivers, though designed and built by different manufacturers, must conform to the same user interface look-and-feel as all the others. This extends to the [[Personal video recorder]] (PVR) offering (branded [[Sky+]]). Although the manufacturers have to follow BSkyB's design criteria, many people think that giving the broadcaster such total control over the viewing experience (and viewing prices) may keep other PVR features from appearing on BSkyB's receivers due to the monopoly position over the decoding CAMs{{Fact|date=April 2007}}. BSkyB initially charged additional subscription fees for using a Sky+ PVR with their service; however, from early 2004, this additional £10 per month charge was waived for subscribers whose package includes two or more premium channels or Sky HD boxes to encourage existing owners to upgrade. As from 1 July 2007, customers that do have Sky+ and pay £10 (as they don't subscribe to 2 or more premium channels) will get Sky+ free of charge. The few customers that don't subscribe to Sky's channels and have Sky+ still pay the £10 per month. In September 2007, Sky launched a new TV advertising campaign targeting Sky+ at women. As of 31 March 2008 sky have 3,393,000 sky+ users. <ref>{{cite news
| title = BSkyB's new Sky+ advert claims to show What Women Think
| publisher = [[Tech Digest]]
| date = [[2007-09-14]]
| url =http://techdigest.tv/2007/09/exclusive_bskyb.html
| accessdate = 2007-09-14 }}</ref>

==Television channels operated by BSkyB==
* [[At The Races]]
* [[Sky Active]]
* [[Sky Arts Pop]]
* [[Sky Arts|Sky Arts Pop 2]]
* [[Sky Arts|Sky Arts Music]]
* [[Sky Box Office (UK & Ireland)|Sky Box Office]] (pay-per-view)
* [[Sky Box Office (UK & Ireland)|Sky Box Office Events]] (pay-per-view)
* [[Sky Box Office (UK & Ireland)|Sky Box Office Previews]]
* [[Sky Box Office (UK & Ireland)|Sky Box Office HD]] 1 & 2
* [[Sky Movies]] Premiere, Premiere+1, Comedy, Classics, Family, Modern Greats, Indie, Sci-Fi & Horror, Action & Thriller, Screen 1, Screen 2 and Drama.
* [[Sky Movies|Sky Movies HD]] Premiere, Screen 1 and 2 — Dedicated [[High-definition television]] Movie Channels
* [[Sky News]] - Free-to-air
* [[Sky1]]
* [[Sky1#Sky1 HD|Sky1 HD]]
* [[Sky2]]
* [[Sky3]]
* [[Sky Sports]] 1–3
* [[Sky Sports|Sky Sports Xtra]]
* [[Sky Sports|Sky Sports HD]] 1-3
* [[Sky Sports News]]
* [[Sky Real Lives]]
* [[Sky Real Lives|Sky Real Lives +1]]
* [[Sky Real Lives|Sky Real Lives 2]]
* [[Sky Shop]]
* [[Sky Vegas]]
* [[Sky Vegas|Sky Poker]]
≤Sky Shop +1≥

==See also==
* [[List of channels on Sky Digital in the UK and Ireland|Sky Digital (UK & Ireland) EPG]]
* [[Sky Broadband]]
* [[Sky Kids magazine]]
* [[Sky Magazine]]
* [[Telecommunication convergence]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.sky.com Official site]

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Revision as of 11:14, 29 September 2008

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