OFT to take no further action over Sky

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said it will not be taking action over what the trade claims is its monopoly over commercial pub TV.

In a letter to trade associations and individuals who had written to the OFT to complain about this supposed monopoly, OFT officials said they had considered the case but would not be taking any further action.

They said that they considered Sky TV to be only one aspect of a wider entertainment category within pubs and did not consider that Sky had a monopoly over that category.

The letter also said the OFT received insufficient information on the market to make a full ruling.

A spokeswoman for the OFT said: "We have sent letters to the complainants and interested parties saying that we are taking no further action as there is not sufficient evidence."

The news has annoyed licensees and pub operators, many of whom have argued in the past that Sky, which has no real competition in the commercial television market since the collapse of ITV Digital, has been unfairly increasing prices in view of this monopoly.

Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers which made a submission to the OFT, reacted strongly.

He said: "Members are annoyed and exasperated by this development. This is a non-decision and it has taken the OFT 15 months to make it. If the OFT needed more information on the nature of the market and Sky's dominance of it then it only had to ask."

Sky, which said it was unable to comment on the decision until it had seen the full text, has argued in the past that its pricing structure reflects the high cost of buying the rights to screen football in the UK.