There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but it seems in the media sector, everything else is losing its price tag.

With Christmas retail figures in, the BBC are now claiming that subscribers to its free digital terrestial TV service Freeview have hit five million. That poses some headaches for Sky, the market leader with 7.1 million subscribers and a business model based on monthly subscription payments. Some analysts even believe that by next Christmas, the two services may be neck to neck.

Freeview, which is jointly owned by BBC, Crown Castle International and BSkyB - offers 30 free digital TV channels and over 20 digital radio stations for a once off fee. The service has had some strategic advantages for Sky, by increasing distribution of three of its channels and potentially providing an upsell path to a premium package of services. Sky also launched a competing free sattelite service last October.

However the interesting broader trend, from free metro commuter newsletters to free internet access providers, is whether in a time of increasing media fragmentation, critical mass in distribution is a prize worthy of any price. Even if that means not having one.