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Mediaset, the Italo broadcaster controlled by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said Tuesday that it has reported Rupert Murdoch's paybox Sky Italia to the antitrust authority for introducing a "digital key" that allows Sky subscribers to access its rivals' free-to-view digital terrestrial content.

The new device is Sky Italia's response to pubcaster RAI, which pulled its programs from the satcaster in July claiming Sky was underpaying for the service.

But Mediaset felt threatened by the digital key development.

It claimed the Sky key would slow sales of digital decoders, which allow viewers to watch free terrestrial TV during the switch from analog. Rome will go digital this week.

Mediaset hopes digital decoders entice viewers to try its own lucrative pay TV Premium Gallery service, because once the decoder is set up, checking out the digital pay TV service is relatively simple.

But it fears that if Sky customers can use their digital key for free terrestrial TV, they might not bother getting a decoder and will therefore be less likely to try Premium Gallery.