The ITV corporation, one of the two major players in UK broadcasting, has dealt a blow to British Sky Broadcasting Plc. The Guardian reports that ITV will not allow BSkyB to broadcast the digital version of its main ITV3 service, when the Rupert Murdoch owned company commences satellite DTV services. BSkyB will have to content its subscribers with the lower quality visuals and audio of the analog version. This is a blow for BskyB as ITV broadcasts such television flagships as, ‘Coronation Street’, regularly the top-rated show in the country and a major selling point for prospective DTV customers. In contrast, terrestrial DTV provider, British Digital Broadcasting will carry digital versions of all current free-to-air analog services (ITV, BBC1 & 2, Channel 4 and Channel 5). However, a spokesman for BDB could not give a more specific start date for the service than the last quarter of this year, while BSkyB insist that the satellite service is still on schedule for its June start date.
