Sky warns it will drop RTÉ if not FTA
October 4, 2017
Sky Ireland has warned it will not carry RTÉ content on its platform if the State broadcaster decides to charge a fee for its channels.
Findings in a report commissioned by RTÉ indicated that the broadcaster could earn up to €19 million by charging Sky alone for using its bouquet of channels. However, David Wheeldon , Sky’s director of policy and public affairs said the state broadcaster “wishes to both have its cake and eat it”.
Speaking to an Oireachtas Committee, Wheeldon said: “There are no circumstances that we would change our approach and make payments for a free-to-air channel. We can’t pay for something that our customers don’t value from us and can get for free from elsewhere.”
Sky is the largest pay-TV operator in Ireland with around 600,000 customers. The committee also heard from representatives of Virgin Media, who warned that the cost of RTÉ’s channels would be passed on to customers.
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