Viewers who watch the main public service broadcasters on satellite but do not take a Sky package, could be frozen out of ITV, Channel 4 and Five by the end of the year. Presently anyone who wants to receive free-to-air channels but does not want to pay for a Sky package needs a special smartcard, called a Solus card, which is paid for by the BBC as part of its "universality" strategy.
The BBC will stop funding this system from the end of May after it decided not to renew its "conditional access" contract with Sky. It will move to a new satellite where its services will be accessible unencrypted. The BBC funded cards still work, but Sky is in the process of replacing all smart cards to take account of updated technology. As the BBC will not contribute to the cost of their replacement none will be re-allocated, blocking access to the commercial free-to-air channels in digital.
ITV, C4 and Five have so far not indicated to Sky that they will take over funding the cards from the BBC. One commercial channel is reported in the trade press as saying that the cost of providing the cards was not merited and they would prefer viewers to watch them via analogue instead. ITV, C4 and Five say they are currently reviewing their options and would hold discussions with each other on the issue soon.
