A Scuffle Over Pay Television in Britain Spills Into the Living Room

A SCUFFLE OVER PAY TELEVISION IN BRITAIN SPILLS INTO LIVING ROOM
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Pfanner]
For 3.3 million cable television viewers in Britain, “Lost” has disappeared. So have several other popular American series, including “24” and “The Simpsons.” The shows vanished from cable last week when British Sky Broadcasting, the satellite television company, withdrew several of its channels, including those that broadcast the United States series, from Virgin Media, the main cable provider in Britain. The companies ostensibly ended their relationship because of a disagreement over the cost of carrying the channels on cable. But analysts say that the companies are fighting a broader battle over the British pay-TV market. This has turned Homer Simpson and the castaways of “Lost” into pawns for some far more powerful media figures: on one side, Richard Branson, the British entrepreneur behind the Virgin brand; on the other, the Murdoch family.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/business/worldbusiness/05uktv.html
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