Media Analysis: Pay-TV brawl enters next round.(competition betweeen Virgin Media Group Ltd and British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC)

Virgin Media's bitter feud with Sky shows little sign of abating and could take its toll on both brands.

When Virgin Media launched in February, few would have predicted the entrant to the pay-TV market would find itself locked in an acrimonious public battle with BSkyB over carriage fees.

The dispute centres on fees for Sky's basic channels: Sky One, Two, Three, News and Sports News. Sky pulled the channels from Virgin after talks broke down in February. Virgin, which accuses Sky of abusing its dominant position, has taken the case to court and it is likely to drag on for at least another year.

The feud has been marked by a barrage of tit-for-tat ad activity, which has arguably created the most entertaining media conflict of the year. Since Virgin Media's debut, the two firms have spent a combined sum of almost pounds 92m on …