Sky Television is considering creating a new type of set-top box that would do away with at least some scheduled television channels and instead let people watch programmes whenever they chose.

The move could make traditional television listings largely redundant. Chief executive John Fellet said an example of a channel that could benefit from the change would be the Discovery Channel, which features programmes such as Man vs. Wild, starring Bear Grylls.

Instead of broadcasting programmes at a certain time via satellite, viewers would select programmes from a "pool" and they would be streamed to their television over ultrafast broadband.

The set-top boxes would be integrated with social media, so they could recommend programmes based on people's past tastes or what their friends were watching.

Sky could make programmes available at any time as it had already bought the rights, Fellet said. "Going to a `pool' concept, which can only really happen with UFB, is an easy decision."

Spokeswoman Kirsty Way said planning for the new set-top boxes was at an early stage and Sky did not have any prototypes. It had considered enhancing its existing MySky boxes, which have an unused Ethernet port allowing them to be connected to broadband. "But it seems more likely we may develop another box."

Sky was unlikely to do away with all "linear" scheduled broadcasts and the boxes would probably still contain a hard drive, so viewers could record traditionally broadcast shows and watch them later, she said.

"I don't think we'll go from `all linear' to `no linear' but you may see channels that are particularly well suited for it becoming available on an on-demand basis." Sky would probably also retain its iSky internet television service, which would still have a role for when people wanted to watch programmes on devices other than those attached to their set-top box.

MediaWorks managing director Sussan Turner yesterday blasted the Government's hands-off approach to broadcasting regulation.

Addressing a Commerce Commission conference on ultrafast broadband in Auckland, Turner said the $3.5 billion UFB network would fail if it was not used to access "competitively priced entertainment services".

That required an "efficient wholesale market" for premium content. But Sky Television had instead taken a "take it or leave it approach" to licensing out its programming rights – one that other countries viewed as "an abuse of monopoly power" – she said.

At the heart of that issue is whether rival broadcasters and telcos should be able to purchase programming to which Sky owns broadcasting rights on terms set by regulators, so they could package it up with other programming they sourced themselves to provide competitively priced alternatives to Sky's service.

Communications Minister Amy Adams told the conference the Government would not act quickly to regulate the pay-television industry or merge broadcasting and telecommunications regulation.

But Turner said MediaWorks saw no alternative to regulation and that separating the regulation of the two industries was antiquated.