Ever since BSkyB backed Freeview, the joint venture between the satellite broadcaster, the BBC and Crown Castle, it has been the view of many that it would only be a matter of time before the broadcaster launched a free channel.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society convention in Cambridge, Sky chief operating officer Richard Freudenstein outlined the broadcaster's plans.
He said that the offering would evolve from Sky Travel, one of Sky's three free channels currently broadcasting on Freeview, once the platform hit 8m users.
The timescale of the launch is unclear, with Freudenstein saying Freeview hitting this figure would depend on the government switching off the analogue signal and converting all viewers to digital.
The government has set a target of 2010 for the switch-off, but it is widely believed that this target will not be met.
Dawn Airey, who joined Sky as managing director of Sky Networks, would be expected to be involved in the new channel.
Channel 4 is also reported to be set to launch a new channel on Freeview called More4. The plans are said to be in the concept planning stage, but it has been approved by the channel's board this week.
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