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What are the issues in Fox's Sky deal? What are the issues in Fox's Sky deal?
(7 months later)
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley says she is "minded to" refer Fox's takeover of Sky to UK competition authorities. Fox's proposed acquisition of Sky is not in the public interest, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally found.
Regulator Ofcom looked into the plan to decide if the deal was in the public interest, especially around media plurality and broadcasting standards. The CMA cited "media plurality concerns" as a key reason for its decision.
Ofcom said it risked the Murdoch family having "increased influence" over the UK's news agenda and political process. The competition regulator is concerned that if the deal went through, the Murdoch Family Trust (MFT)'s control across all media platforms in the UK would give it too much influence over public opinion and the political agenda.
Fox owns 39% of Sky, but wants to buy the rest, and assume total control of the broadcaster. Communications watchdog Ofcom raised similar concerns in June 2017.
The deal has been cleared by European Commission competition authorities. Sky and Fox first agreed the deal in December 2016 and the European Commission said in April that it was happy for the takeover to proceed.
This a quick guide to the issues involved: However, the then Culture Secretary, Karen Bradley, referred the bid to the CMA, and they revealed their provisional findings on Tuesday.
Why is the deal controversial?Why is the deal controversial?
Rupert Murdoch will control both 21st Century Fox and Sky while also owning The Times, the Sunday Times and The Sun newspapers. There are concerns about Rupert Murdoch controlling 21st Century Fox and Sky, while also owning the Times, the Sunday Times and the Sun newspapers.
Opponents say this will give him too much power in the UK media.Opponents say this will give him too much power in the UK media.
Fox has also been hit by sexual harassment scandals at its flagship Fox News channel in the US. Some of the victims have given evidence to Ofcom. Fox has also been hit by sexual harassment scandals at its flagship Fox News channel in the US. Some of the victims have given evidence to regulator Ofcom.
Why is Mr Murdoch keen on the takeover? However, the CMA says in its provisional ruling that, on the issue of broadcasting standards, these issues at Fox News did not call into question the company's commitment to upholding standards in Britain.
Rupert Murdoch is willing to spend £11.7bn on the deal - an indication of how much he wants it to happen. Will Disney take control of Sky News?
If the deal goes ahead, 21st Century Fox would gain access to Sky's 22 million customers in Europe. As well as the UK and Ireland, Sky owns similar satellite pay-TV operations in Germany and Italy. In December, Walt Disney agreed to snap up the bulk of 21st Century Fox's business for $52.4bn (£39bn), including Fox's film and television studios and its 39% stake in Sky.
It will also have full control over how it is run, rather than have to listen to independent shareholders. Should the acquisition be completed successfully, Disney is likely to assume full ownership of Sky, including Sky News, which would lessen the Murdoch family's influence over British media providers.
On top of that, the company is highly "cash generative", money that could be freely channelled to help expand the Murdoch empire elsewhere. The deal would expand Disney's offerings, adding the FX and National Geographic cable channels, as well as Fox's regional sports network in the US.
Fox argues that money it invests will benefit the UK's creative industries. In recent years Sky has commissioned an increased amount of original UK programming, such as the dramas Fortitude and Guerrilla, rather than rely entirely on US imports. Disney already owns a vast array of news, film and leisure companies in the US, including the likes of ABC News and Radio, Vice, ESPN, Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar.
If the deal is successful, does this mean Sky News will become a UK version of Fox News? Although it doesn't yet have big interests in the UK, the deal would extend the company's global reach, adding media company Star India and Fox's interests in Sky plc and Tata Sky to its portfolio.
In short, no. Why was Mr Murdoch keen on the takeover?
Fox News is known for its right-wing stance, with contributors such as former Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. When the Fox bid for Sky was announced in December 2016, Rupert Murdoch was willing to spend £11.7bn on the deal for Fox to acquire the shares in Sky it did not already own.
It is also supportive of President Trump. If the Sky-Fox deal goes ahead, 21st Century Fox would gain access to Sky's 22 million customers in Europe. As well as the UK and Ireland, Sky owns similar satellite pay-TV operations in Germany and Italy.
The UK has rules that ensure broadcasters must pay attention to due impartiality so Sky would be prevented from taking a similar route to Fox. It would also have full control over how it is run, rather than having to listen to independent shareholders.
Hasn't this deal been tried before? However, if the Disney-Fox deal does finally go through, which would almost certainly be after the Sky-Fox deal, the whole of Sky would be likely to transfer to Disney's ownership.
Fox first tried to buy Sky in 2011 but the deal fell apart after revelations about the hacking of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone by the Murdoch-owned News of the World. Did Murdoch try to buy Sky once before?
Then, as now, there was opposition from Labour and the Liberal Democrats as well as other media groups. Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation tried to buy BSkyB in 2011, but the deal fell apart after revelations about the hacking of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone by the Murdoch-owned News of the World.
After the 2011 debacle, Mr Murdoch split the broadcasting and film empire - Fox - away from his newspaper interests - News Corp. Then, as now, there was opposition from Labour and the Liberal Democrats as well as other media groups.
After this, Mr Murdoch split the broadcasting and film empire - Fox - away from his newspaper interests - News Corp.
What happens now?What happens now?
Ms Bradley will have received the report from Ofcom on the broadcasting standards and plurality implications and will announce whether she will refer the deal to the Competition and Markets Authority. The CMA's ruling is only provisional, so this tale still has a long time to run.
The process now moves to a three-week public consultation where the CMA will receive responses to its provisional ruling.
After that, it will incorporate the responses into a final report, which will be sent to new Culture Secretary Matt Hancock by 1 May.
He then has 30 working days to make the final decision as to whether or not the deal will go ahead.