Fox worries prompt UK to take long look at Murdoch’s Sky bid

LONDON: Rupert Murdoch’s planned US$15 billion takeover of European broadcaster Sky was thrown into doubt when Britain toughened its stance on the deal over concerns about standards at his US Fox News network.

Media Secretary Karen Bradley had already wanted regulators to scrutinise the increased influence Murdoch would gain from fully owning Sky, but in an unexpected twist she said they should also examine whether he had a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards.

The announcement sent Londonlisted shares in Sky down 5 per cent, before they recovered to trade at 937 pence, well below the 10.75 pounds per share TwentyFirst Century Fox has agreed to pay for the 69 per cent of Sky it does not already own.

“I consider it important that entities which adopt controversial or partisan approaches to news and current affairs in other jurisdictions should, at the same time, have a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards here,” Bradley told parliament.

She said the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) should also look into corporate governance at the right-leaning Fox.

The news network has been rocked by a series of sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits, leading to high profile resignations including former chief executive Roger Ailes and star anchor Bill O’Reilly.

Sky stopped broadcasting Fox News in Britain last month, a decision prompted it said by low audience numbers rather than any concerns about reputational damage in relation to the bid.

The channel, however, has become a lightning rod for Murdoch’s long-standing critics in Britain, and it was cited repeatedly in opposition to the Sky takeover.

Britain’s political leaders have long sought the support of Australian-born Murdoch, who shook up the establishment after he arrived in Britain in the 1960s to buy newspapers such as the News of the World, Sun and Times.

He then took on the BBC and ITV with the launch of the Sky TV platform in 1989.

Decades later he remains at the centre of the industry, with critics accusing him of using his media empire to play puppet master to governments of both political persuasions.

His reputation was severely damaged in 2011 when a phonehacking scandal at the News of the World forced him to drop a previous attempt to buy Sky.

Undeterred, Murdoch, 86, and his family returned in December with an agreed bid to take full control of Sky, which broadcasts sports, entertainment and US drama programmes in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy.