Rupert Murdoch may yet live to regret his observation in 1996 that sport would be the “battering ram” of pay television. It crops up again in the British media watchdog’s 222-page analysis of the UK market, published yesterday. This is only a consultation document. But behind the dry language on premium content markets and vertical integration is the most realistic regulatory challenge yet to the dominance of Murdoch-controlled satellite TV company, British Sky Broadcasting.

Mr Murdoch’s medieval siege metaphor was blunt, but true. Sport – specifically live football from Britain’s Premier League – and blockbuster movies spearhead subscription TV’s campaign to occupy Britain’s living rooms. That has riled Sky’s rivals, particularly a quartet made up of BT, Setanta, Top Up TV and Virgin Media, which complained to the regulator, Ofcom, that they were unable to compete.