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Murdoch BSkyB Probe Thrown Into Chaos

By TIM ADLER in London | Tuesday December 21, 2010 @ 10:58am PSTTags: BSkyB, Jeremy Hunt, News Corp BSkyB Takeover, News Corp Finance, Ofcom BSkyB Takeover Investigation, Ofcom Sky, Rupert Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch BSkyB, TV, UK Business Secretary Vince Cable, UK TV

Jeremy Hunt, the UK culture secretary – and a man known to be sympathetic to the Murdoch media empire – will now decide whether News Corp’s £7.8 billion ($12.5 billion) takeover of BSkyB gets referred to the Competition Commission. Business secretary Vince Cable disqualified himself from the role this afternoon after telling 2 undercover newspaper reporters that he had “declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win”. Prime minister David Cameron called Cable’s views on Rupert Murdoch “completely unacceptable”. The BBC has been leaked the full transcript of Cable’s secret taped conversation with the Daily Telegraph reporters. Ofcom is investigating the bid on the grounds of protecting a diversity of voices. It’s not meant to be political. Cable went on: “His whole empire is now under attack… So there are things like that we do in government, that we can’t do… all we can do in opposition is protest.” Robert Peston, the Beeb’s business editor, has been leaked the transcript by a whistleblower unhappy that the Daily Telegraph omitted this part of Cable’s interview in today’s front page splash. News Corp says: “News Corporation is shocked and dismayed by reports of Mr Cable’s comments. They raise serious questions about fairness and due process.” Claire Enders of Enders Analysis, the media analyst who wrote to Cable outlining how the deal would harm media diversity, tells me: “This was a huge mistake on his part. It was my impression that his demeanour had been cool as a cucumber for 6 months. He came across to all parties as not taking a personal interest. This was obviously not sincere.” Earlier today News Corp welcomed the decision by Brussels to give unconditional clearance to its proposed acquisition of the shares in BSkyB that it does not already own.

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James Murdoch Bares Teeth Over Sky Bid

By TIM ADLER in London | Thursday November 18, 2010 @ 3:43am PSTTags: BSkyB Finance, James Murdoch, News Corp, News Corp BSkyB, News Corp BSkyB Takeover, News Corp Sky News, Ofcom, Ofcom BSkyB Takeover Investigation, Ofcom Sky, Rupert Murdoch BSkyB, TV, UK Business Secretary Vince Cable, UK Government BSkyB, UK TV

James Murdoch has warned the UK government that News Corp could move overseas if the regulator blocks its £7.8 billion ($12.5 billion) bid for BSkyB. News Corp’s European and Asian boss made the veiled threat talking to investment bank analysts in Barcelona. The government must decide whether it wants to risk “jeopardising an £8 billion investment in the UK” with a prolonged investigation, Murdoch said, noting that News Corp could relocate some of its most innovative projects to more “welcoming” countries if the UK blocks its bid for BSkyB. “From India to Italy and to Germany, countries are becoming more welcoming of investment and more welcoming of what we can bring,” Murdoch said. Read More »

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Rupert Murdoch Blasts Anti-News Corp Alliance Opposed To BSkyB Bid

By TIM ADLER in London | Thursday October 21, 2010 @ 12:00pm PDTTags: BBC, Channel 4, News Corp BSkyB, News Corp BSkyB Takeover, Ofcom, Ofcom Sky, Rupert Murdoch, TV, UK Business Secretary Vince Cable, UK TV, Vince Cable

Rupert Murdoch took a swipe at rival media groups striving to block News Corp’s takeover of BSkyB and accused them of petty thinking. In what was billed as his first major speech in the UK since 1989, Murdoch tonight … Read More »

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UK Broadcasters Could Be Forced To Carry Local News Bulletins

By TIM ADLER in London | Tuesday September 28, 2010 @ 3:00am PDTTags: Jeremy Hunt, Ofcom, Ofcom Sky, Royal Television Society Conference, Sky, TV, UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, UK Local TV Channels, UK TV, UK TV Finance

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt raised the possibility of Sky also being told to run local news, at least in the short term. Otherwise it could risk being demoted on where it sits on electronic TV listings. Hunt thinks that Sky and … Read More »

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Sky Faces Splitting Up Movie Business

By TIM ADLER in London | Wednesday August 4, 2010 @ 3:58am PDTTags: Ofcom, Ofcom Sky, Sky, Sky Movies, UK Competition Commission, Virgin Media

UPDATE: The pay-TV giant could be forced to separate its consumer movie channels and the way it sells those channels to rivals. Ofcom, the communications regulator, has referred Sky’s dominance of the movie pay-TV business to Brussels. The Competition … Read More »

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