None too impressed with Freeview's growing success in the digital TV market, Sky is to take on the operator by launching its own Freeview-style package.
Since its launch ten months ago, almost 1.6 million DTT set-top boxes have been sold for reception of Freeview. The service accounts for almost 20% of digital viewers, compared to Sky which has almost 7 million subscribers.
In order to progress further past the 8 million mark - a target set for 2005 - Sky believes it will have to take a new approach.
"We can get to eight million or so but will the next four million all be high revenue? Probably not," said Sky CEO Tony Ball at the Media Guardian's interenational TV festival in Edinburgh.
"We will come up with a Freeview-plus type of package with one or two [extra] channels. We will have to slice it and dice it a different way."
Although Sky would receive a lower average revenue per subscriber, those taking up the new service would be expected to buy their digital dish and set-top box.
A Sky source told the newspaper that plans were still only "at the proposal stage."
Since its launch ten months ago, almost 1.6 million DTT set-top boxes have been sold for reception of Freeview. The service accounts for almost 20% of digital viewers, compared to Sky which has almost 7 million subscribers.
In order to progress further past the 8 million mark - a target set for 2005 - Sky believes it will have to take a new approach.
"We can get to eight million or so but will the next four million all be high revenue? Probably not," said Sky CEO Tony Ball at the Media Guardian's interenational TV festival in Edinburgh.
"We will come up with a Freeview-plus type of package with one or two [extra] channels. We will have to slice it and dice it a different way."
Although Sky would receive a lower average revenue per subscriber, those taking up the new service would be expected to buy their digital dish and set-top box.
A Sky source told the newspaper that plans were still only "at the proposal stage."
