Murdoch Bid for Sky Control Hits New Bump as U.K. Official Hints at Inquiry
In an address to Parliament, the minister, Karen Bradley, said she was "minded" to refer the $15 billion deal to the Competition
and Markets Authority for a more intensive inquiry into concerns about whether Fox would uphold broadcast standards in Britain and whether owning all of Sky would give it too much control of the British media.
12, 2017
LONDON — Britain’s culture minister said on Tuesday
that she was inclined to ask the country’s competition regulator to carry out a detailed review of a bid by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to take full control of the British satellite television giant Sky.
That Ms. Bradley would say she was leaning toward seeking a fuller inquiry was expected: She had previously indicated
that concerns about how much control the Murdoch family would have over the country’s media merited a further review.
Analysts had long anticipated a move by 21st Century Fox to gain full control of Sky as media companies seek to grow, control more content and distribute
that content directly to customers in hopes of keeping pace with companies like Netflix and Amazon.
Mr. Murdoch’s company had said that its existing stake in Sky was "not a natural end position."
But 21st Century Fox has struggled to move past the sexual harassment scandal.
