The BBC hopes that itsdecision not to pay conditional access fees to BSkyB, a News Corp [NYSE: NWS] affiliate,will not sour relations between the two companies. The BBC confirmed earlier this month that beginning May 30, it will broadcast its eight TV channels unencrypted on digital satellite rather than use BSkyB. This move will save the BBC GBP85 million ($133.1 million) in conditional access fees over the next five years.

Commenting on relations between the BBC and BSkyB, Carolyn Fairbairn, director of strategy and distribution at the BBC, said, “We will have meetings over the next few days to talk about the proposals that we have made. We hope they will continue to be professional and businesslike in the sense that this is a very simple issue in that we were purchasing a service from them that we no longer need.”

An exclusive interview with the BBC’s Fairbairn can be found in the next edition of Interspace. For information about subscriber, check out our Website at https://www.satellitetoday.com.