Freeview says the Government should force Sky TV to make its free-to-air channel Prime available on Freeview.

Mr Browning says this would increase the uptake of Freeview HD and hasten the transition from analogue to digital TV.

Why Prime is off the menu is the biggest question Freeview gets asked by consumers, he says. Such "must offer" rules are often imposed on commercial broadcasters overseas, he says.

Sky TV spokesman Tony O'Brien says Sky fully intends making Prime available on Freeview HD, and in high- definition format, but only when viewer numbers justify the investment. He estimates the cost at about $2.2 million. Sky "would do it tomorrow" if the Government met all the costs.

"We have already got Prime delivered by satellite and UHF. It is uneconomical for us to spend money on a third network at this stage. We are waiting to see the viewership grow on [Freeview HD] and when it is at a sufficient level of course we are going to have Prime there."

Mr Browning says it might not be unfair for Sky TV to get the same government subsidies paid to free-to-air channels to help meet some of the costs it incurred making Prime available on digital.

The subsidies were offered to Sky, but it refused them when Freeview was created. They did not meet broadcasters' costs in full.