This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/29/rupert-murdoch-sky-takeover-bid-referred-to-competition-authorites

The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Murdoch's Sky bid likely to be referred to competition authorities Murdoch's Sky bid likely to be referred to competition authorities
(about 2 hours later)
Rupert Murdoch’s proposed £11.7bn takeover of Sky by 21st Century Fox has been dealt a blow after the government said it intended to call in the competition authorities for a further six-month examination of the deal. Rupert Murdoch’s plans for the £11.7bn takeover of Sky have been set back after the culture secretary accepted there were serious concerns over handing him and his family “increased influence over the UK news agenda and the political process”.
Karen Bradley, the culture secretary, announced the decision in the House of Commons after considering an investigation into the takeover by the media watchdog, Ofcom. Karen Bradley told the Commons that she accepted a recommendation from Ofcom to call in the Competition and Markets Authority to conduct a further six-month examination of the deal because of the “material influence” that the Murdoch family would have as a result.
She told MPs that she was minded to submit proposed takeover to a further 24-week inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority on the grounds of media plurality following a recommendation by the communications regulator. She said a warning by Ofcom that media plurality would be reduced was “persuasive”. She added: “The proposed entity would have the third largest total reach of any news provider – lower only than the BBC and ITN – and would, uniquely, span news coverage on television, radio, in newspapers and online.
The minister said that Ofcom’s report concluded that the deal might increase the Murdochs’ ability to “influence the overall news agenda and their ability to influence the political process and it may also result in the perception of increased influence”.
Bradley said that Fox had taken the unusual step of offering editorial guarantees around Sky News in its submission to Ofcom to address any potential media plurality issues it may raise in its report. The proposed undertakings included establishing a separate editorial board and a commitment to maintain Sky branded news and funding for five years. However, the minister said she had rejected them.
Ofcom’s report said that the remedies proposed would mitigate the media plurality concerns but could be further strengthened. “I have taken an initial view,” said Bradley. “I can confirm that I have, today, written to the parties indicating that I am minded not to accept the undertakings that have been offered.”
The regulator had submitted the findings of three investigations looking at whether the deal would give Murdoch too much control of UK news, if the media mogul was a “fit and proper” owner and whether Fox, which owns the rightwing Fox News channel, would abide by editorial standards such as accuracy and impartiality once it took full control of broadcasting assets including Sky News. 21st Century Fox already owns 39% of Sky.
On the other two matters, Ofcom said that Fox and Sky met the appropriate standards. The regulator said that an examination of Fox and Sky’s broadcasting compliance records in the UK found that the enlarged company would not “lack a genuine commitment to the attainment of broadcasting standards” and that there were no grounds to justify a referral to competition regulators.
Ofcom’s “fit and proper” test found that the allegations relating to Fox News in the US amount to “significant corporate failures” but that it did not believe that meant that the takeover would mean the company would “lack a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards”.
Bradley is giving parties until 14 July to submit representations before she makes a final decision on her recommendations. She said that she had to be guided by evidence in front of her and that “while there are strong feelings among both supporters and opponents of this merger, in this quasi-judicial process, my decisions can only be influenced by facts”.
But it was the crucial matter of media plurality that Bradley reserved her strongest words. “The reasoning and evidence on which Ofcom’s recommendation is based are persuasive,” she said. “The proposed entity would have the third largest total reach of any news provider - lower only than the BBC and ITN – and would, uniquely, span news coverage on television, radio, in newspapers and online.
“Ofcom’s report states that the proposed transaction would give the Murdoch Family Trust material influence over news providers with a significant presence across all key platforms.”“Ofcom’s report states that the proposed transaction would give the Murdoch Family Trust material influence over news providers with a significant presence across all key platforms.”
During Rupert Murdoch’s previous bid in 2011, Jeremy Hunt, who was culture secretary, initally accepted an offer to spin off Sky News to allay media plurality issues raised by Ofcom. But that deal collapsed when Murdoch was forced to withdraw his bid amid public furore over phone hacking at the News of the World. Bradley also told MPs that Murdoch’s company 21st Century Fox had made a series of formal pledges surrounding Sky News last week in a late attempt to push the deal through before her announcement. This included a commitment to spin off Sky News but maintain a branded service for five years with spending at least similar to now and reinforcing its independence by creating an editorial board that had a majority of independent members to determine the head of Sky News and oversee its editorial guidelines.
However, the secretary of state said she was minded not to accept these undertakings.
Bradley will make a final decision about the undertakings and whether to refer the deal to the CMA after further submissions by Sky, 21st Century Fox and other interested parties, leaving open the possibility of further negotiations. The deadline for these submissions is 14 July.
Ofcom’s report said that the remedies that had already been proposed would mitigate the media plurality concerns but could be further strengthened.
Ofcom was also asked to review if the Murdochs would be “fit and proper” owners of Sky’s broadcasting licence despite “significant corporate failures” at Fox News, which has faced a wave of allegations about sexual and racial harassment.
On this matter, Ofcom said there was no clear evidence that senior executives at Fox were aware of sexual misconduct before complaints were made to them and that Fox and Sky’s previous compliance record with the broadcasting code was in line with comparable broadcasters.
That helped shares in Sky rise by more than 3% after the announcement as investors breathed a sigh of relief that the Murdochs had passed the test – thereby clearing one hurdle to the deal – even though Fox may now have to offer concessions to push the transaction through and faces a lengthy competition inquiry.
Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader and shadow culture secretary, criticised the announcement as part of an “old playbook” that he predicted would involve the government eventually approving the deal after Fox offers concessions. “Nothing about this decision is a surprise,” he said.
Watson said that undertakings provided by Murdoch on other deals had proven to be “not worth the newsprint they’re written on”. The shadow culture secretary also called on the rules surrounding the fit and proper test to be reviewed, saying they did not take into account the phone-hacking scandal that caused a previous attempt by Rupert Murdoch to buy Sky to collapse.
“If the current rules mean that James Murdoch can pass a fit and proper test, given everything we know about his and his companies’ behaviour over phone hacking, and given everything we know about Fox’s behaviour over the ongoing sexual harassment scandal in the United States, then that says more about the rules than it does about Mr Murdoch,” Watson said.
Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader and long-time Murdoch critic, called on Bradley “not to do a grubby deal”, but John Whittingdale, Bradley’s predecessor as culture secretary, praised her for the “scrupulous” handling of the takeover.
Whittingdale added: “When it comes to plurality, it is increasingly obvious – and the general election bore this out – that the printed press are of a waning influence and the real media giants today are Google and the social media giants.”
Fox said it was disappointed by the decision. The company said in a stock market statement: “While we welcome the secretary of state’s decision on broadcasting standards, we are disappointed that she does not accept Ofcom’s recommendation stated in its report that ‘the proposed undertakings offered by Fox to maintain the editorial independence of Sky News mitigate the media plurality concerns’.”
The regulator had submitted to Bradley the findings of three investigations looking at whether the deal would give Murdoch too much control of UK news; if the media mogul was a fit and proper owner and whether Fox, which owns the rightwing Fox News channel, would abide by editorial standards such as accuracy and impartiality once it took full control of broadcasting assets including Sky News. Fox already owns 39% of Sky.
The regulator said that an examination of Fox and Sky’s broadcasting compliance records in the UK found that the enlarged company would not “lack a genuine commitment to the attainment of broadcasting standards” and that there were no grounds to justify a referral to competition regulators – as well as saying the fit and proper test had been passed.
During Murdoch’s previous bid in 2011, Jeremy Hunt, who was culture secretary, initially accepted an offer to spin off Sky News to allay media plurality issues raised by Ofcom. But that deal collapsed when Murdoch was forced to withdraw his bid amid public furore over phone hacking at the News of the World.
The company bidding this time is 21st Century Fox, which owns the 20th Century Fox film studio and the Fox TV network. It was carved out of Murdoch’s News Corporation empire, as a response to the phone-hacking scandal.The company bidding this time is 21st Century Fox, which owns the 20th Century Fox film studio and the Fox TV network. It was carved out of Murdoch’s News Corporation empire, as a response to the phone-hacking scandal.
Murdoch’s remaining newspapers, including the Sun and the Times, are now part of a separate company, News Corp, although both it and 21st Century Fox are still controlled by the media mogul and his family.Murdoch’s remaining newspapers, including the Sun and the Times, are now part of a separate company, News Corp, although both it and 21st Century Fox are still controlled by the media mogul and his family.
Sky said it “will continue to engage with the process as the secretary of state reaches her final decision”, adding: “In the meantime, Sky welcomes today’s announcement of Ofcom’s decision that Sky would continue to be a fit and proper holder of its broadcast licences under full ownership of 21st Century Fox and will continue to operate its business as usual.”