TV industry review could see ITV and Channel 4 enjoy windfall from Sky and Virgin Media
A sweeping review of the UK TV industry is set to examine whether pay-TV companies should have to pay "retransmission" fees to carry ITV and Channel 4 on their platforms.
At the moment, the likes of Sky and Virgin Media can carry free-to-air channels without having to pay them any money.
But as the Sunday Times reports, ministers have now ordered a sweeping review of the UK TV industry, and the commercial broadcasters are pushing for change.
ITV and its free-to-air counterparts would like to see the introduction of a US-style model which would require pay-TV firms to pay fees to include them within their packages.
For the likes of ITV and Channel 4, this could mean a windfall of "tens of millions" to invest in new productions, according to the Sunday Times.
However, according to the broadsheet Sky's position is that it should not have to pay for channels that viewers can already watch for free.
The consultation has been instigated by culture secretary Sajid Javid.