Discovery has declared war on Sky following a dispute over fair pricing that could see 12 channels pulled from the pay-TV provider at the end of the month.
The owner of channels including Discovery, TLC and Eurosport has called Sky’s buying strategy a “threat to the future and vitality of independent broadcasters”.
It comes after the two broadcasters failed to reach an agreement over a new carriage deal, as Sky “refuses to pay a fair price” for Discovery’s portfolio of channels. The independent broadcaster claims it is paid less now for its channels than it was in 2006, despite a rise in the price of Sky subscriptions.
Discovery is also disputing a hike in prices after it has increased its share of viewing on the Sky platform by more than 20%, and increased investment in original content by more than 30% since 2010, adding new channels Eurosport, TLC and Investigation Discovery to its portfolio...
