Pay TV channels could soon be available for Freeview under plans to launch a new subscription service.
Called 'Top-Up TV', the premium package is the brainchild of former Sky executives David Chance and Ian West. The pair were one of the applicants who tendered a bid to run the DTT service after the demise of ITV Digital in 2002 but lost out to the joint BBC/Sky/Crown Castle consortium, Freeview.
Around ten channels would initially be in the lineup for the package, including the likes of E4, Sky One, TCM, Cartoon Network, UK Gold and Discovery. Top-Up TV would initially be aimed at the 1.25 million households with old ITV digital boxes and integrated digital TVs.
Subscribers would have to pay around £8 to £10 per month for the premium addon, which could launch as early as April.
The announcement is likely to anger the BBC, who have been largely successful in educating viewers about their new 'free' digital service; the launch of Top-Up TV on the platform could add to viewer confusion and slow down growth of the product.
Called 'Top-Up TV', the premium package is the brainchild of former Sky executives David Chance and Ian West. The pair were one of the applicants who tendered a bid to run the DTT service after the demise of ITV Digital in 2002 but lost out to the joint BBC/Sky/Crown Castle consortium, Freeview.
Around ten channels would initially be in the lineup for the package, including the likes of E4, Sky One, TCM, Cartoon Network, UK Gold and Discovery. Top-Up TV would initially be aimed at the 1.25 million households with old ITV digital boxes and integrated digital TVs.
Subscribers would have to pay around £8 to £10 per month for the premium addon, which could launch as early as April.
The announcement is likely to anger the BBC, who have been largely successful in educating viewers about their new 'free' digital service; the launch of Top-Up TV on the platform could add to viewer confusion and slow down growth of the product.