The UK Competition Commission said it is looking at measures to make the UK pay-TV movie market more competitive, after it found that BSkyB's Sky was restricting competition.

The regulator said today that Sky had an incumbency advantage with a large subscriber base that meant potential rivals were unable to bid successfully for first subscription rights for pay-TV movies.

"Many consumers do not consider the other ways of watching movies as close substitutes to Sky Movies," said the Competition Commission, adding that it was inviting responses to possible remedies that would seek to enable more firms to secure pay-TV rights from major studios.

BSkyB said in a separate statement: "BSkyB continues to believe that no regulatory intervention is required and that consumers benefit from high levels of choice, value and innovation across a wide range of providers."

The broadcaster, the subject of a premium bid from parent News Corp that evaporated last month after a phone-hacking scandal, said it would continue to engage with the commission.

Reuters