Clock ticking on BBC’S chance to buy UKTV

THE BBC faces a countdown to a crunch decision over whether to make a £500m grab for full control of UKTV, the commercial broadcasting joint venture behind the Dave channel.

Following the completion of Discovery’s takeover of Scripps, the BBC’S partner in UKTV, the clock is ticking on a 90-day call option triggered by the change of control. The BBC’S commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, has the right to buy out the other half of the firm.

Discovery’s $14.6bn (£10.4bn) takeover of Scripps, the US broadcaster of cable channels such as the Food Network, was completed this month, giving the BBC until the first week of June to make a decision. The Corporation is under pressure to increase commercial income amid a squeeze on the licence fee. Full ownership of UKTV, which last year reported a pre-tax profit of £85m, could boost efforts to fill the funding gap caused by new burdens on

‘The company wouldn’t do anything that is not within an agreed framework for BBC Worldwide’

BBC finances such as the World Service and free licences for over-75s.

The decision is complicated by a £350m cap on BBC debt set by the Government. In order to buy the other half of UKTV the corporation may require political support to lift the cap and borrow more, with commercial rivals likely to raise concerns over BBC ex- pansion in the pay-tv markets. A BBC Worldwide source told The Daily Telegraph: “The company wouldn’t do anything that is not within an agreed framework for BBC Worldwide.”

The price it would be forced to pay is at least predictable and set by a formula in the UKTV shareholder agreement.

Discovery’s plans for its UKTV stake are unclear, amid what an industry source described as a “Mexican standoff ” with the BBC.

The owner of Eurosport is yet to appoint directors to the broadcaster’s board, which was already undermanned after BBC Worldwide’s appointees quit last year in a row over alleged conflicts of interest surrounding UKTV’S attempts to secure a new pay-tv deal with Sky.