Pay TV phase three document - Stakeholders - Ofcom

Pay TV phase three document – non-confidential version
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platforms have different technical characteristics, and pay TV services are sold in
varying bundles with other services which vary depending on the platform 484 .
7.52 The combination of these factors means that some consumers will have to choose
between either doing without Core Premium channels, or accessing pay TV via a
platform that would not otherwise be their preferred choice.
7.53 The potential effects are summarised in Figure 60. We consider in turn the different
groups for whom we see a potential concern.
Figure 60 Consumer effects relating to choice
Type of household /
subscriber
Basic customers on DSAT
Number of
households /
subscribers
(million, 2008)
DSat: Basic [ � ] None
DSat: Sky Core
Premium
Potential distortion of choice
[ � ] Distortion of platform choice –
some consumers with a
preference for other platforms
may have subscribed to Sky to
access premium content
Cable: Basic [ � ] Unmet demand – weak
incentives on cable firms to
market Sky Core Premium
channels, leading to low takeup
Cable: Sky Core
Premium
[ � ] None
Other households 13.7 Unmet demand – some
consumers would subscribe to
Sky Core Premium channels if
available on other platforms
7.54 We do not have a concern that there is any distortion of consumer choice in relation
to the [ � ] million consumers currently on DSat and purchasing basic channels.
These consumers have chosen the DSat platform for some reason other than Core
Premium channels, so we assume that this platform choice is undistorted, and these
consumers have the option of purchasing Core Premium channels.
484 Sky noted in its response to our Second Pay TV Consultation that: “Sky believes that making its
content available across a variety of platforms increases demand because there is a significant
number of consumers who have strong preferences as to which platform they use, or are restricted as
to which platforms are available to them”. Section 5, paragraph 2.2.