In a bid to make the Foxtel/Austar merger more palatable to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the pay-TV groups have agreed to make exclusive content available to internet service providers.
According to a report in The Australian, the deal will allow some content to be used by ISPs for TV delivered via the internet, following concerns by ISPs that the power of the merged company could reduce competition through exclusive content deals.
The content is understood to include movies and lifestyle programming.
Those opposing this concession have reportedly said that billions of dollars have been invested in key content, so it should remain on pay TV delivery mechanisms only.
The ACCC, which is expected to make its decision on the deal late next month, has previously said internet protocol television is an increasingly important mechanism for delivering pay TV that will only grow with the roll out of the national broadband network.
Concerns about the deal, which began in May 2011, were flagged by the ACCC last year.
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