NBCUniversal owner Comcast announced a $31 billion bid for U.K. broadcasting giant Sky. The bid is significantly higher than Fox’s offer for the European pay-TV group, according to The Guardian. Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox had already agreed on a deal to buy 61 percent of the U.K.-based broadcasting group.
British regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said Fox’s bid was not in the public interest, due to concerns about media plurality.
Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader and long-time Murdoch critic, praised the watchdog’s findings: “The Competition and Markets Authority is right to say that the Fox takeover of Sky would give the Murdoch family too much power. This is the right decision for the U.K.”
The latest bidding comes at a time when traditional cable television networks have been losing customers to streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix. Fox announced the sale of most of its entertainment assets, including its 39 percent stake in Sky, to Disney last month.
Comcast issued a statement yesterday morning: “Comcast recognizes that Sky News is an invaluable part of the U.K. news landscape and the company intends to maintain Sky News’ existing brand and culture, as well as its strong track record for high-quality impartial news and adherence to broadcasting standards,” the company said in the release. “While Comcast does own a substantial international operation in the U.K., with more than 1,300 employees, the company has only a minimal presence in the U.K. media market. Comcast therefore does not believe that this superior cash proposal should create any media plurality concerns in the UK.”
February 28, 2018
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