The latest news on the BBC's plans to unscramble their satellite broadcasts and deprive Sky of £85 million of administration fees - talks between the two broadcasters have broken down and the Beeb may now take the case to the TV regulator, the ITC. A BBC spokesman told Media Guardian that BskyB had "not given a satisfactory response" to its proposals for a compromise and therefore they had no option but to call in the regulators. "We are preparing a submission."
As previously reported BskyB have said that they will remove the BBC from the top two channels on the Sky programme guide if they unscramble their output. Sky claim they would have to do this for technical reasons because if the Beeb's broadcasts are unscrambled they couldn't stop them leaking into Ireland where the top two channels are reserved for RTE. Therefore they would need to give the BBC channels unused in Eire (probably 51 and 52). But the BBC claim the threats to move the position of their main two channels is an attempt to force the Beeb into a new deal, and nothing to do with technical limitations.
If the ITC gets involved in the quibbling it is unclear which way they will go. Sky's licence to run the main satellite TV infrastructure in the UK dictates that the BBC must be guaranteed positions of "due prominence" on their electronic programme guide. But that doesn't necessarily mean the top two channels. If the ITC side with Sky it is likely the BBC would then appeal straight to the government claiming that their decision to unscramble satellite outputs so anyone can access their broadcasts helps them better meet their public service obligations.