The BBC has warned Ofcom that both ITV and Channel 4 News could turn to BSkyB as their news provider in an effort to save money as part of the consultation process over News International’s full takeover of BSkyB.

In correspondence sent by the BBC to Cliver Carter, Ofcom’s policy director, obtained by The Drum through an FOI request, the organisation says that BSkyB would likely participate in the forthcoming tender process next year when the news contract, currently held by ITV News, is reviewed and warned that both ITV and Channel 4 could turn to BSkyB as their news provider “to seek the cheapest high quality bid they can.”

The document, sent on 11 November 2010, advises that ITV, which has a 40% stake in ITN, should be offered an ownership incentive to counter such a move.

“Were both channels over time to change news provider to BSkyB, the viewing hours of TV news provided by BSkyB would increase to over 30% based on 2008 viewing data,” warns the document.

“Under such a scenario, there would be a cross-media concentration of news supply covering then vast majority of commercial TV news, all national commercial radio news and a sizeable share of the newspaper market,” it adds.

The Competition Commission has previously stated in a report into the acquisition by BSkyB of 17.9% of the share of ITV, that should ITN be ‘unable to function as an effective independent supplier of news content in competition to Sky News’ that it could reduce the ability of other channels, such as Channel 4, as ‘an independent’ news voice.

The warning over the potential switch of news provider was made by the BBC ahead of News International’s announcement that it would look to offload Sky News should it be allowed to proceed in its takeover of BSkyB to avert concern over ‘media plurality’.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce his decision over the takeover early next week.