Rumors of Sky News to shut down due to the Fox bid

Fox said it would establish a fully independent board for the news channel to ensure the 86-year-old media mogul and his family could not influence its output.

Britain’s competition regulator said last month that Fox’s deal to buy the 61 percent of Sky it does not already own should be blocked unless a way was found to reduce the influence Murdoch could wield through owning the Sun and the Times newspapers, as well as TV, radio and online news outlets.

Some lawyers, investors and analysts have said that a stronger mechanism to guarantee the independence of Sky News should be enough to gain approval.

Looming over the Fox-Sky takeover is a $52.4 billion deal that would result in Walt Disney Co buying Fox’s TV and film studios, its cable TV assets and international TV businesses including Sky - leaving the Murdochs with Fox’s U.S news and sports channels, as well as their News Corp newspaper and publishing assets.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had already said the Disney deal should be taken into consideration when any remedies are assessed.

THREE SOLUTIONS
In January it put forward three broad possible solutions: insulating Sky News from Fox’s influence, spinning off or divesting Sky News, or blocking the deal outright.

Sky, however, warned the regulator that if it blocked the deal, it could close the loss-making channel completely, killing the main British competitor to the BBC in 24-hour TV news.

Fox said the regulator’s assessment was based on a number of legal and factual errors, but nonetheless promised to fund Sky News for at least five years and said it would put a “firewall” around the channel as remedies.

“The combined effect of the Proposed Firewall Remedies is that there could be no circumstances in which, post-transaction, the MFT (Murdoch family trust) or members of the Murdoch family could influence, whether directly or indirectly, the editorial line or policy of Sky News,” the company said.

It said it would establish a fully independent board to oversee Sky News, including the appointment of the head of the channel, who will have sole responsibility for editorial strategy and staffing.

The proposal builds on a previous Fox pledge to create a Sky News board with a majority of independent directors.

But the CMA noted opponents of the deal had said previous offers by Murdoch to guarantee the editorial independence of the Times newspapers in Britain and the Dow Jones company had proved ineffective.

Former opposition Labour leader Ed Milliband and ex-Conservative finance minister Kenneth Clarke were among four lawmakers who said the deal should be blocked, arguing if the independence of Sky News was lost, it would be difficult or impossible to restore, and that the CMA could reconsider the deal if Disney buys Fox.

Fox’s proposals were released by the CMA on Monday. It is due to present media secretary Matt Hancock with a final report by May 1 and he has said he will rule on the deal by June 14.

Shares in Sky were trading up 0.36 percent at 10.53 pounds at 1216 GMT. Fox has offered 10.75 pounds a share.

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LONDON (AP) — Comcast has emerged as the top bidder for European broadcaster Sky after a rare auction held by British regulators.

After three rounds of secret bidding on Friday and Saturday, Comcast offered the higher price of 17.28 pounds ($22.58) per share for Sky, the equivalent of nearly 30 billion pounds ($39 billion). Rival 21st Century Fox offered 15.67 ($20.47) per share.


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In a statement, Sky recommended that shareholders accept Comcast’s offer and sell their shares immediately. Comcast said it hoped to complete the takeover by the end of October.

“Sky is a wonderful company with a great platform, tremendous brand and accomplished management team,” Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement. “This acquisition will allow us to quickly, efficiently and meaningfully increase our customer base and expand internationally.”

Philadelphia-based Comcast is one of the largest cable television providers in the U.S. Around 29 million customers get cable television, internet access and other services from Comcast.

Britain’s regulator, the Takeover Panel, set up the auction to reduce uncertainty for Sky after months of offers and counteroffers from the American media giants. Sky is Europe’s largest pay-television operator, with 22.5 million customers in seven countries and popular programming including English Premier League soccer and “Game of Thrones.”

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Fox owns 39 percent of Sky. It now must decide whether to sell its stake or remain a minority shareholder.

Fox had long been trying to acquire the 61 percent of Sky it doesn’t already own. Fox founder Rupert Murdoch’s last bid sank amid a 2011 phone-hacking scandal, in which journalists working for Murdoch newspapers were accused of gaining illegal access to the voicemail messages of crime victims, celebrities and members of the royal family.

A bidding war emerged last December, when Comcast made an offer for Fox’s entertainment assets, which Walt Disney Co. is in the process of buying for about $71 billion (54 billion pounds). Comcast eventually dropped out of that contest to focus on its acquisition of Sky.

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Walt Disney (DIS.N) has offered concessions in an attempt to allay EU antitrust concerns over its $71.3 billion bid for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s (FOXA.O) entertainment assets, the European Commission said on Monday

Disney submitted its proposal on Friday, according to a filing on the EU competition enforcer’s website which however did not provide details.

The Commission extended its deadline for reviewing the deal to Nov. 6 from Oct. 19. It is now expected to seek feedback from customers and rivals before deciding whether to accept the concessions or demand more.

Disney secured approval from the U.S. Justice Department for the deal in June on condition after agreeing to sell Fox’s 22 regional sports networks.

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The deal would expand Disney’s unrivalled portfolio of some of the world’s most popular characters, uniting Mickey Mouse, Luke Skywalker and Marvel superheroes with Fox’s X-Men, “Avatar” and “The Simpsons” franchises.

Disney owns ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel Studios and “Star Wars” producer Lucasfilm, plus an array of theme parks. The Fox assets being acquired include a cable group with FX Networks, National Geographic and 300-plus international channels, plus Fox’s stake in Hulu

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