“..Rival broadcasters Television New Zealand and MediaWorks, including TV3 and C4, will join forces next year to convince the new National government to force Sky Television to divest free-to-air channel Prime.
The question is how the National Government will balance its traditional support for the private sector and Rupert Murdoch’s Sky against the free-to-air broadcasters’ concerns that the company’s dominance will overwhelm the free industry if it is not regulated.
Will National regulate Sky or take the same hands-off approach it took to Telecom in the 1990s?
Prime is a key part of Sky’s strategy to dominate sports coverage..
..which TVNZ and Mediaworks say is uncompetitive because by bidding for free-to-air alongside its pay TV rights..
..it has the power to force them out of top programming..”
go to source/story>>Prime time for a battle over TV channels – 24 Nov 2008 – NZ Herald: New Zealand Business, Markets, Currency and Personal Finance News
