ITV also asked the Office of Fair Trading to investigate since it believed Rupert Murdoch's media empire via its newspapers had influenced the deal.

[15] Following a lengthy legal battle with the European Commission, which deemed the exclusivity of the rights to be against the interests of competition and the consumer, BSkyB's monopoly came to an end from the 2007–08 season.

It was based on an idea by then CEO Sam Chisholm and chairman Rupert Murdoch of converting the company's business strategy to an entirely fee-based concept.

Michael Grade criticised the operations in front of the Select Committee on National Heritage, mainly for the lack of original programming on many of the new channels.

Key selling points were the improvement in picture and sound quality, increased number of channels and an interactive service branded Open...., later called Sky Active.

[27] In December, the UK's parliament heard a claim that a subscription to Sky was 'often damaging' to welfare recipients, along with alcohol, tobacco and gambling.

Conservative MP Alec Shelbrooke was proposing the payments of benefits and tax credits on a "Welfare Cash Card", in the style of the American Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, that could be used to buy only "essentials".

[29][30] Comcast, the largest cable TV provider in the United States, outbid 21st Century Fox, on 22 September 2018 in an auction for control of Sky UK.

[31] On 12 October 2018, Comcast announced it will compulsorily acquire the rest of Sky after its bid gained acceptance from 95.3% of the broadcaster's shareholders with the company being delisted by early 2019.

[48] Sky initially faced increased competition from telecommunications providers to deliver pay television services over existing telephone lines using ADSL.

On 26 September 2012, Sky relaunched its "Anytime+" on-demand-via-broadband service as "On Demand" as the BBC's iPlayer joined the line-up of channels offering catch-up TV on the company's Sky+ HD box – linked to a router, the signal from which was recorded before viewing.

In the week before the launch, rumours started to surface that Sky was having supply issues with its set-top box (STB) from the manufacturer Thomson.

The Sky Q set-top boxes introduce a new user interface, Wi-Fi hotspot functionality, Power-line and Bluetooth connectivity and a new touch-sensitive remote control.

The HLG format is to be included in a select number of UHD VoD downloads, starting with Sky Nature before being added to other channel content.

UHD broadcasts started on 13 August 2016, with the first live Premier League football match of the 2016/17 season, Hull vs Leicester City.

Features include a 4K quantum dot display, integrated Dolby Atmos surround sound speakers and voice controls.

and Toy Story That Time Forgot, Minions, Inside Out, Kung Fu Panda 3, The Secret Life of Pets, The Lego Batman Movie, Despicable Me 3 and Monster Family.

UK-only spot beams are intentionally tightly focused over mainland UK, however they are still receivable dependent on location and access to a sufficiently large dish and sensitive LNB.

The EPG differs depending on the viewer's location due to the limited regional availability of certain channels or conditions relating to their must-carry status.

In October 2007, Sky announced that they would not accept new applications to launch the channel on their EPG, citing "very significant memory constraints" on many of its older digiboxes.

[83] In June 2012, Sky launched a new EPG dubbed "Darwin" for their Sky+HD receivers, offering a more modern, refreshed interface and some improved functionality.

For example: On 12 July 2011, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown claimed that Sky's largest shareholder – News Corporation – attempted to affect government policy with regards to the BBC in pursuit of its own commercial interests.

[87] He went further, in a speech in Parliament on 13 July 2011, stating: "Mr James Murdoch, which included his cold assertion that profit, not standards were what mattered in the media, underpinned an ever more aggressive News International and Sky agenda under his and Mrs Brooks' leadership that was brutal in its simplicity.

I believe that the way in which the application programming interface—the operating system—has been used has been anti-competitive and that Sky has deliberately set about selling set-top boxes elsewhere, outside areas where they have proper rights.

If one visits a flat in Spain where a British person lives, one finds that they mysteriously manage to have a Sky box there even though it is registered to a house in the United Kingdom.

[91][92] Nonetheless, the linear channels were not offered, Virgin Media instead concentrating on its Video on Demand service[93] to carry a modest selection of HD content.

The failure to renew the existing carriage agreements negotiated with NTL and Telewest resulted in Virgin Media removing the basic channels from the network on 1 March 2007.

Currently, there is no indication as to whether the new deal includes the additional Video On Demand and High Definition content which had previously been offered by Sky.

As part of the agreements, both Sky and Virgin Media agreed to terminate all High Court proceedings against each other relating to the carriage of their respective basic channels.

Managing Director Susanna Dinnage stated in the press release:"We believe Sky is using what we consider to be its dominant market position to further its own commercial interest over those of viewers and independent broadcasters.