Sky claims that Channel 4 has wasted £270m in the last 10 years on "unprofitable non-core commercial activities" and argues that the government should step in to prevent it from making further "poor" investments.
Channel 4 claims it is facing a funding shortfall of £150m by 2012 because of falling advertising revenue and wants the government to intervene.
Sky's letter forms part of its response to Carter's interim Digital Britain report, which put forward a number of options for securing Channel 4's public service broadcasting role as part of a larger entity including merging it with BBC Worldwide or with a commercial broadcaster.
Sky argues that Channel 4 is in a stronger financial position than many of its commercial rivals, with cash reserves of £425m, and claims it could retain its independence by withdrawing from unprofitable businesses and developing new sources of revenues.
Sky also says that it is prepared to work with Channel 4 to "create a profitable suite of pay channels" that would be carried on the Sky platform, and heavily promoted by the satellite broadcaster.
The letter concludes by saying that while Sky recognises that the downturn in the advertising market will have a significant impact on Channel 4's revenues in the short term it is "well placed to ride out the storm and participate in the eventual upturn in advertising".
The letter highlights Sky's concerns about the government's plans to create a second public service broadcaster, with Channel 4 at its centre, to compete with the BBC.
Sky's chief executive Jeremy Darroch is expected to call on the Government to abandon those plans in a speech to media executives today.
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