Sky has accused Virgin of an "apparent reluctance to negotiate" after it rejected Sky's latest offer for carriage of the Sky channels on its cable network.
The latest deal, offered in letters released to the media last week, was to "split the difference" between each party's last offer, which Sky sources indicate is about £10m.
Sky had originally demanded £48.4m for Virgin to carry its channels in 2007, an increase from £23.6m in 2006.
It further piled the pressure on its beleaguered rival with rumours of a surprise bid for broadband provider Tiscali, a rival to Virgin, which would give Tiscali's customers access to the basic Sky channels at the heart of the dispute through its Homechoice broadband network.
In the letters to Virgin's chief executive, Steve Burch, dated 10 and 18 May, Murdoch writes: "We are concerned that your apparent reluctance to negotiate signals a willingness on Virgin Media's part to deprive cable viewers of Sky's basic channels indefinitely, or for a protracted period. We hope this is not the case."
In response, Virgin accused Sky of a "crude attempt to exert undue pressure by putting negotiations under the public spotlight".
Virgin said: "We have always been open to a realistic offer from Sky and have made this clear. Throughout the original negotiations, we consistently made it clear that the withdrawal of the Sky channels and aggressive promotions aimed at our customers would cause damages that would be reflected in any subsequent negotiations."
The National Consumer Council also released a statement, renewing its threat to step in with a "super complaint" to regulator Ofcom if the two broadcasters cannot resolve their differences.
Meanwhile, Sky has reduced the amount it pays to carry Virgin's channels from £35.6m in 2006 to £5.1m in 2007, after twice offering to pay nothing.
Virgin agreed to the lower amount early this year, but has tried to reopen negotiations as part of the dispute over the carriage of Sky channels on Virgin.
The company, formerly NTL, applied to the High Court in April seeking a ruling that Sky has abused its "dominant position" in pay-TV and seeking unspecified damages.
.jpg)
.jpg)