[jagsman]

The negotiations between SKY and Virgin probably went something like this;

Sky: we have to shaft BT with this OFCOM thing
Virgin: yes, but how?
Sky: let them announce their pricing, then we'll up the wholesale cost
Virgin: great, as long as we get a good deal with the HD
Sky: about that. You have to stop saying HD is free with you lot
Virgin: we need to try and get more subscribers for our phone and broadband, so we bum up the TV side to make it look good
SKY: all we get from our subscribers is moans that you lot dont charge for HD, so why do we
Virgin: why dont you just get rid of the HD sub?
Sky: f**k off! its a sodding goldmine. We will never get rid of it.
Virgin: right, gives us a good deal for the premium HD stuff, and we'll charge for that, but you will have to buy our VMTV channels for a good price.
Sky: OK, we'll buy your channels and you start charging for HD. everyones a winner.
Sky: better still, make the charge "per box", that would be the ultimate mindf**k. Do that, and we'll throw in SS news HD when it launches
Virgin: great you've got yourselves a deal
Sky: (on the phone) hello....Mr Murdoch. We've got them to start charging for their HD, bought their channels, and we're all going to increase prices this year before we add in the VAT rise in January. happy days