Nandy says she is minded to intervene in Sky's £1.6 billion takeover of ITV's broadcast business
The Culture Secretary told Parliament she has potential concerns about news plurality and the breadth of control in the media, and is considering a new public interest ground covering on-demand programming that would need legislation. Sky and ITV have until 20 October to respond.
The Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said she is minded to intervene in Sky's £1.6 billion deal to buy ITV's broadcast channels and streaming service, citing potential concerns about the breadth of news providers in Britain and the extent of Sky's control over the media.
Sky UK announced on 6 July that it had agreed terms to acquire ITV Media and Entertainment Holdings for a total consideration of up to £1.6 billion. In a statement to Parliament on Thursday, Nandy said her department had written to the legal representatives of Sky and ITV to say she was minded to intervene on three public interest grounds already specified in the Enterprise Act 2002: the need for free expression of opinion in news media, the need for a sufficient plurality of views in news media, and the need for a sufficient plurality of persons with control of media enterprises.
She is also minded to intervene on a new ground that is not currently specified in the Act: the availability across the United Kingdom of a wide range of broadcasting and on-demand programmes, of high quality and calculated to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and interests. The existing consideration was drafted when viewing was largely through broadcast linear channels, she said, and does not cover the effect of a merger on streaming or on-demand programmes. If she decides to intervene on that basis, she will bring forward legislation amending section 58 of the Act to extend the consideration to on-demand programmes.
The question for the regulators is no longer only who controls the channels, but who controls the stream.British Journal analysis
Nandy stressed that she has not taken a final decision. The minded-to letter gives the parties until 09:00 on 20 October to make representations in writing. If she issues an intervention notice, Ofcom would assess and report on the public interest considerations, and the Competition and Markets Authority would assess whether a relevant merger situation has been created and any impact on competition. She would then decide whether to refer the matter for a more detailed investigation by the CMA under section 45 of the Act. “I will update Parliament on my final decision at the earliest opportunity,” she said.
The deal covers ITV's linear channels and the ITVX platform and would create Britain's largest commercial broadcaster; ITV Studios continues separately. Both companies have said ITV's channels would remain free to air, its public service broadcasting commitments would be maintained, and ITV News, produced by ITN, and Sky News would remain distinct editorial voices. Sky said it would consider the Secretary of State's letter carefully and engage constructively, and that it remained confident the combination would create a stronger British media business. ITV said it welcomed the letter and looked forward to cooperating fully. ITV's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, said when the deal was announced that she expected it to face a lengthy review.
None to date. The Journal corrects errors promptly and transparently. Read our corrections policy.
