The coalition has been proposed by terrestrial broadcasters as a way of cutting costs at ITV Digital and boosting the whole digital TV market.
The plan calls for terrestrial TV companies to join together to allow consumers to buy a cheap entry-level set-top box, for around £100, through which they could receive 20 free channels including UK Gold.
Now it is thought the coalition is approaching BSkyB with a view to bring its programming into the venture. This week, BSkyB chief executive Tony Ball said: "There might be an opportunity for Sky to participate in that free-to-air service with a couple of channels."
Carlton Communications, which along with Granada has invested £788m in ITV Digital so far, posted its results yesterday, revealing its profits had fallen to £118m from last year's figure of £193m.
News of the talks came after last month's announcement that ITV had finally signed an agreement for Sky Digital to carry ITV1 and ITV2 on its service.
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