Investigation findings into Sky's prices to be made public this month
The findings of an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)into Sky's prices for live football in pubs are to be made public this month, according to national newspaper speculation.
An OFT spokesman would not confirm or deny reports that its director general John Vickers is about to publish the long-awaited report.
The ruling will decide whether Sky has acted anti-competitively by demanding unreasonably high fees from rivals to show its channels.
The newspaper report relates to the main OFT inquiry into Sky's business dealings with rival operators such as ITV Digital and cable operators Teleswest and NTL.
However, the trade is also waiting for the OFT to rule on Sky's charges to pubs. The original investigation began last autumn, and was extended to include the pub market in December, after trade bodies including the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations submitted dossiers of evidence to the OFT intended to show that Sky's charges to pubs were unreasonable.
Mr Vickers' report was originally due in June, but was delayed because of the General Election.
An OFT spokesman said: "We're not able to say whether an announcement is imminent. These are complex issues and it takes time to reach a conclusion."
A number of City analysts have said they believe Sky will be accused of abusing its market dominance. Mr Vickers' most likely action will be to issue a 'rule 14' letter under the 1998 Competition Act. This would set out the reasons for the OFT's view, and suggest possible remedies. Sky will have the option to reply and make its own suggestions.
Sky is likely to argue that following the emergence of ITV Digital, replacing OnDigital, and mergers within the cable sector, it now has serious competition and is not abusing a monopoly.
A number of pub operators signed up to ITV Digital when its Premiership soccer package was launched at the beginning of the football season, although many have taken it in addition to Sky. Others removed Sky from their pubs during the summer, when less live football is shown.
