BSkyB clashed with Ofcom yesterday after the communications regulator said that it would conduct a public consultation on the company’s plans to ask consumers to pay for its Freeview channels.

The satellite broadcaster, which is 39.1 per cent owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times, is unhappy that Ofcom felt the need to consult the public a year after it had apparently indicated it would not do so.

Sky wants to remove its existing Freeview channels, Sky News, Sky Sports News and Sky Three, and relaunch a four-channel paid-for service offering Premier League football, film, entertainment and news for a monthly fee – possibly £10 to £15 a month.

The idea is to allow Sky to compete with Setanta Sports, which has launched a £10.99 a month channel available via Freeview that will show Premier League football from next season. The extra consultation means that Sky will not be able to launch until next year.

Sky’s complaint centres on a decision taken by Ofcom in April last year in which the regulator had said it was possible to introduce charging for some Freeview channels “without additional public consultation”. It said Setanta was not asked to submit to the extra scrutiny.

That prompted an unusually robust response from the regulator. A spokesman said that the regulator “completely rejected” Sky’s interpretation of the April 2006 statement, which was “generic and general” whereas Sky’s application is “a specific case”. It added: “Sky would expect us to take this approach with any other organisation”.

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