Sky Italia rubbishes Mediaset’s dongle complaint

Sky Italia has branded Mediaset’s complaint against the USB device it intends to use to offer digital terrestrial channels as “an excuse and obviously unfounded”.

Italy’s leading pay-TV provider has asked the country’s antitrust authority to ignore the complaint, stating that the USB key was “a market response in a competitive situation”.

Mediaset claims the digital dongle, which will be made available to Sky’s HD subscribers, could prevent people from buying DTT decoders that make it possible to receive other pay-TV services, including Mediaset’s Premium offering. However, Sky said in a statement that the USB device offered no practical or economic disincentive to choose to subscribe to Mediaset’s services.