The revelation that the BBC is talking to new prospective partners for UKTV after its current joint venture partner, Flextech, acquired a new owner in the merged NTL/Telewest, could trigger a major shake-up in the TV sales landscape.
The BBC is understood to be talking to all the major UK broadcasters, but favours a linkup with a US outfit which can help meet its global ambitions.
BBC Worldwide chief executive John Smith has put global expansion, and particularly the development of BBC America, at the top of his priorities.
NTL/Telewest admits it is virtually powerless to stop the BBC walking away with Flextech's crown jewels, albeit for a "market value" buyout price, estimated at up to £500m.
But who is most likely to succeed in a bid for the UKTV stake and how will it impact on Flextech's sales house IDS, for which UKTV accounts for more than half its revenue?
Worldwide operation
In terms of scale, Discovery, Viacom, AOL Time Warner and even Disney, meet the criteria.
Giving one of these Americans a share in such channels as UK Gold, UK History and UK Style, in return for involvement in global content deals and platforms, would help transform BBC Worldwide into a truly worldwide operation.
The BBC already has a long term content and commercial deal with Discovery, which has bred shows such as Blue Planet and Walking With Dinosaurs and with new channels, including Animal Planet. Discovery also handles US sales for BBC America, which, like UKTV, is advertising-funded.
In the UK, Discovery outsources its sales to Sky Media and represents a significant chunk of the sales house's business.
Should it buy the UKTV stake, Discovery would have sufficient clout to launch its own UK sales operation, according to some pundits.
"If Discovery, or any of the US companies, bids for UKTV, then having control of the commercial side of the operation must be a major consideration," predicts one US programming boss.
There are other options for a BBC/Discovery partnership. It could leave UKTV with IDS and move Discovery into IDS, where it once sat.
Or, it could move UKTV into Sky Media. According to one UK sales chief, the latter is a more likely move. "I really can't see Discovery pulling its sales out of Sky. As Sky is so powerful in the UK, I think Discovery would be very worried about taking them on," he says.
A Viacom victory in a bidding war for UKTV would see its sales operation in the UK, Viacom Brand Solutions, catapulted up the power league. Similarly, should AOL Time Warner buy the UKTV stake, it would likely move it into the sales division of its UK subsidiary, Turner Broadcasting System, providing it with much needed scale.
While they may be dominant in the UK, neither Sky or ITV, two companies which would love to get their hands on UKTV, fit the bill in terms of the global partnership the BBC appears to want.
The same applies to the Luxembourg based RTL, which owns Five in the UK. Five desperately needs to acquire a digital TV presence, hence, arguably, has most to gain from a UKTV partnership with the BBC.
Yet, Five has little to bring to the party as it has the least programming content to help fill UKTV's schedules.
Monopolies issues
The UK bidders face another hurdle that wouldn't apply to the Americans. ITV and potentially Sky, would almost certainly face monopolies issues on the sales front.
Where it was initially thought that the longstanding uncertainty over Flextech's future had been resolved by the NTL/Telewest merger, the UKTV issue has clouded that future again and within only days of the merger being consummated.
Yet, even if the BBC does opt for a new partner, it could still prosper under the new powerful cable marriage. In announcing the merger, NTL boss Simon Duffy stressed that content, that is Flextech, was a vital part of NTL's future.
This pledge is backed up by reports that NTL intends to join with ITV in attempting to wrest much of the Premiership live football rights from Sky when they next come up for auction.
With or without the BBC, the cable platform will have no shortage of resources to throw at expanding its content, should it so choose.
And if an American partner lands UKTV, but decides its interests are best served with sticking to programming, rather than handling sales, IDS, which has, after all, successfully helped to build the business, could yet cling on to the UKTV contract.
Possible futures for UKTV
? An American partner in UKTV launches new sales house, or increases the clout of its existing UK operation
? IDS keeps the UKTV business, despite Flextech losing its content deal
? A UK broadcaster wins the UKTV stake, adding significantly to its advertising market share.
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