In 1989 Rupert Murdoch, then losing millions on his new Sky satellite service, gave the MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival. Addressing executives from a cosy industry not used to new entrants, he made bold predictions on the impact of multi-channel broadcasting. He attacked the “narrow elites” controlling television, standing in the way of consumer choice. It was a visionary speech and it is striking how much of the communications revolution he predicted was subsequently delivered.
Today Rupert's son, James Murdoch, will give the MacTaggart lecture. It will be surprising if he does not use the same platform to criticise the Murdochs' new foe, media regulator Ofcom, and its proposals to make Sky's premium movies and sports channels available to other pay-TV retailers at reasonable prices.
There is irony to Sky's tirade. Twenty years ago, Rupert Murdoch was the champion of the plucky new entrant and railed against the big beasts of broadcasting trying to preserve the status quo to the detriment of consumers. Now, Sky is the biggest of beasts, with a market share well in excess of 80 per cent, controlling virtually all premium pay-TV channels, making hundreds of millions of pounds of profit each year and spending £900m on marketing. Now, it is using all its influence to try to prevent new entrants such as BT Vision and Top Up TV from getting a foothold in the market.