Sky proposes a "Picnic" new brand of services for the UK

Sky has revealed details of its plans to offer broadband, telephone and digital terrestrial television services under a new brand across the UK.

The new Picnic offerings will let customers pick "simple, flexible options to combine the services that they want" from Sky's TV, broadband and phone services.

The new Picnic set-top boxes would be produced by a variety of manufacturers, including Sagem, who would decide the PVR-esque spec and features and would be sold through retailers, rather then direct through Sky.

The decision to go ahead with the launch of Picnic is subject to the outcome of Ofcom's review of the proposed increased choice of TV programming which should happen later this year.

James Murdoch, Sky CEO said: "We are looking forward to the conclusion of the regulatory approval process so we can start delivering a great service and real savings to customers".