The European Commission today announced it has approved plans for a British "video-on-demand" tie-up between Sony's Columbia Pictures and the Walt Disney Company.
The venture between Disney, Columbia and Britain's ON Demand Group will challenge satellite firm BSkyB, the current dominant provider of pay-TV content in Britain and Ireland, the Commission said.
"The joint venture . . . will create competition to the current dominant provider of Pay-TV content to the benefit of cable customers in the two countries," it said in a statement.
The new firm will provide an open platform for movie providers, allowing them to make films directly available to cusomers of Britain's two big cable networks, Telewest and NTL, the Commission said.
