Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

UK general election to delay report on Fox/Sky merger

24 Apr 2017, 10:08 am

An anticipated report by a UK regulator on whether the proposed takeover of Sky by Twenty-First Century Fox is in the public interest will be delayed until after the UK general election, it has been confirmed.

Culture secretary Karen Bradley last month asked Ofcom to conduct a public interest review into the planned £11.7 billion deal, which was notified to the European Commission earlier in March.

Ofcom was due to submit its report and recommendations to Bradley by 16 May, but the government has now applied an extension (2-page / 117KB PDF) to the due date for the report until 20 June "given the close proximity" of the UK's general election to the 16 May reporting date. The UK general election, called last week, is scheduled for 8 June.

Bradley also asked the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to report on potential jurisdictional issues relating to the proposed Fox/Sky deal. The government has confirmed that an extended deadline (2-page / 139KB PDF) for submission of that report of 20 June will also apply.

Ofcom's public interest review will look at issues of media plurality. It said last month that it would report on whether there would be "sufficient plurality of persons with control of the media enterprises" serving UK audiences should Fox complete a takeover of Sky, and also consider whether the management at Fox "have a genuine commitment" to the attainment of the objectives of broadcasting standards outlined in UK communications laws.

In a consultation paper it published at the time, Ofcom said it plans to consider plurality in the areas of news and current affairs. It said it intends to look at issues such as availability, consumption, impact and contextual factors, which could include governance and funding models as well as the potential power or editorial control exercised by owners, proprietors or senior executives.

In a separate legal process, Ofcom is also due to give a determination on whether Sky would remain a fit and proper holder of a broadcast licence in light of a change in control at the organisation which a takeover by Fox would bring.

Ofcom has confirmed that it has decided to extend until 20 June the timeframe for reporting on the 'fit and proper' issue, after noting the potential overlap between the issues it is required to consider as part of that assessment and the separate public interest review.