Ofcom's report into the purchase said that the acquisition
raises public interest concerns about a concentration of power in
the market for providing news.
Seperately, Ofcom has published its report into the Channel 4
programme Big Brother and the racism and bullying of Shilpa Shetty
alleged to have taken place in the most recent series of Celebrity
Big Brother.
The broadcaster must ensure that apologies are read out at the
start of the first show of the next series next Wednesday, at the
start of the repeat of that show the next day and at the start of
the programme in which the first eviction will take place.
Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB purchased its stake in ITV last year as
cable company NTL was mounting an attempt to buy the company. NTL
had by then merged with Virgin and is now re-branded as Virgin
Media.
Virgin and BSkyB are fierce competitors in the UK pay television
market, with Sky offering a satellite service and Virgin a cable TV
service.
Having examined the reports by the OFT and Ofcom, the DTI and
the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Alistair Darling said
that there were issues for the Commission to examine.
The OFT report found that the deal could cause a substantial
lessening of competition in the television market and that the
issues were too serious to be addressed simply by undertakings from
the companies involved.
Ofcom found that the deal raised concerns about the plurality of
UK TV news market and in the multimedia news market.
"My decision reflects consideration of the reports I have
received from both the Office of Fair Trading and Ofcom and of
other representations I have received about this matter," said
Darling. "On the basis of the evidence before me, a fuller
investigation by the Competition Commission is justified."
