The European Commission has opened an investigation into subsidies for British broadcaster Channel 4's investments in digital technology.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that, while it was committed to encouraging a switch to digital, it needed to make sure that any state support did not unduly distort competition.
The Commission is responsible for policing state aid in Europe to make sure that it does not give companies an unfair advantage.
British authorities informed the commission in October of plans to grant £14m in aid to Channel 4 to help it cover the costs of switching over to digital technology.
Even before that, the commission had received a complaint from an unnamed British rival that Channel 4 had enough funds to meet its investment needs without state aid. Although Channel 4 is commercially run, it is publicly owned.
