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Rupert Murdoch

LONDON. – Rupert Murdoch’s £11.7bn bid to take full control of Sky has been provisionally blocked by the UK competition regulator. The Competition and Markets Authority said 21st Century Fox’s bid to take control of the 61 percent of Sky it does not already own was not in the public interest due to concerns about media plurality.

The CMA’s investigation into the deal found it would give the Murdoch family trust, which controls Fox and News Corp, the publisher of the Sun and the Times, “too much control over news providers in the UK across all media platforms and therefore too much influence over public opinion and the political agenda”.

The investigation cleared the deal on the grounds of Fox’s commitment to broadcasting standards – despite the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World and allegations of sexual harassment at Fox News.

However, its findings on media plurality mean the deal is unlikely to go through without Fox and Sky agreeing to remedies, such as Sky News being spun off from Sky or being insulated from potential influence by the Murdoch family.

The CMA will consult on its provisional findings and potential remedies before delivering its final report to the government by a deadline of 1 May.

It has set out three options for the deal that should be considered in the consultation: that it is blocked; that Sky News is spun off or sold; or that Sky News is insulated from the influence of the Murdoch family trust.

Fox said it was “disappointed” by the CMA’s provisional findings on media plurality, but welcomed its decision that a combined Fox and Sky would be committed to meeting broadcasting standards.

The company said: “We welcome the CMA’s provisional finding that the company has a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards and the transaction would not be against the public interest in this respect.

“Regarding plurality, we are disappointed by the CMA’s provisional findings. We will continue to engage with the CMA ahead of the publication of the final report in May.”

Sky said it noted the CMA’s findings but made no further remarks on its announcement. – The Guardian