UK pay-television broadcaster BSkyB has accused BT of double standards after the telecommunications company said that it had been unfairly blocked from advertising its planned new pay-television sports service on the Sky Sports channels.
Sky disputed BT Retail managing director John Petter’s claim that BT is “happy to take Sky’s advertising but they seem afraid of taking ours” after the telecommunications company submitted a complaint last week to UK media regulator Ofcom that accused Sky of “undue discrimination.”
“BT advertises on Sky every month of the year and can promote its sports channels on all of our channels except Sky Sports,” Sky’s director of corporate affairs, Graham McWilliam, said. “More pertinently, Sky is blacklisted by BT from advertising on the web portal aimed at its broadband customers. This has been the case since we entered the home communications marketplace in competition with BT several years ago.”
McWilliam said that Sky’s decision to block BT from advertising its new sports service – which will launch this summer – on the Sky Sports channels was “perfectly reasonable given the billions that we have invested to build our brand.”
He added that BT should “stop complaining” and should focus on developing its broadcast business rather than “take the well-worn path to Ofcom’s door.” He added: “Before honing its soundbites or filing yet another complaint, this £22 billion (€26 billion/$34 billion) gorilla in puppy’s clothing would do well to look at its own double standards.”
A BT spokesperson said: “Sky’s comments today are rather surprising given that they themselves have in the past complained to Ofcom, when [commercial broadcaster] ITV refused at one point to take Sky ads. We can only presume that our friends at Sky are rattled, and that they recall their own complaint was upheld.”