New Sky chief exec James Murdoch has vetoed long-term plans to launch "channel 6" on Freeview, The Times reports today.
The strategy would have seen the broadcaster eventually replace its Sky Travel station on DTT service Freeview with a general entertainment offering to compete directly with Channel 4 and Five.
Over 3 million homes now have Freeview, with 40,000 new sets being sold each week.
However Murdoch - who took up the position at the top of BSkyB four months ago - has instead decided that the company should not be distracted from its main business, pay TV. As a result the millions that would have been spent on launching the new channel will now be diverted to making its pay TV offering more attractive.
Sky News, Sky Sports News and Sky Travel will continue to broadcast on Freeview but no large-scale new resources will be put behind them
The strategy would have seen the broadcaster eventually replace its Sky Travel station on DTT service Freeview with a general entertainment offering to compete directly with Channel 4 and Five.
Over 3 million homes now have Freeview, with 40,000 new sets being sold each week.
However Murdoch - who took up the position at the top of BSkyB four months ago - has instead decided that the company should not be distracted from its main business, pay TV. As a result the millions that would have been spent on launching the new channel will now be diverted to making its pay TV offering more attractive.
Sky News, Sky Sports News and Sky Travel will continue to broadcast on Freeview but no large-scale new resources will be put behind them
