Nandy Minded to Intervene in Sky’s £1.6bn Deal for ITV
The culture secretary says there are reasonable grounds to believe the takeover of ITV’s media and entertainment arm could affect free expression and the range of views available in British news. She is considering a public interest intervention notice, which would force the competition authority and the broadcasting regulator to investigate the tie-up.
The deal, agreed in July, would take ITV’s free-to-air channels and its streaming service into Sky while leaving behind the production arm that makes its best-known programmes. The numbers in the letter are the argument: the two broadcasters’ news operations together account for 26% of people watching news on conventional television, and after a merger 86% of that market would sit with either the BBC or the combined company. The letter accepts viewers would still have the BBC and Channel 4, but argues the range of views could narrow over time, with the north of England, the nations outside England and lower socio-economic groups particularly exposed. Four public interest considerations are cited: free expression of opinion, a range of views, a range of people controlling the media, and a wide range of programmes across the United Kingdom. Sky says it will “carefully consider” the letter and “engage constructively”, and remains “confident”; ITV welcomed it and says the deal would help it compete with global streaming platforms.