Comcast jumps into the battle for control of broadcaster Sky

LONDON — Comcast may have found a way to disrupt Walt Disney Co.’s plan to buy most of Twenty-First Century Fox: topping Fox’s bid to buy the British satellite broadcaster Sky with its own $31 billion takeover offer.

The bid, announced Tuesday, seizes upon Twenty-First Century Fox’s difficulties buying the piece of Sky that it does not already own. British regulators have expressed repeated concerns about giving Rupert Murdoch and his family more control over the country’s media, stretching the approval process out over more than a year and forcing Twenty-First Century Fox to offer more concessions.

Comcast has said that buying Sky would help it expand in Europe, where the broadcaster has 23 million customers and owns rights to show the English Premier League and other professional soccer leagues. Disney, too, has been keen on expanding internationally, with the British company serving as a vital part of its $52 billion plan to buy a significant portion of Twenty-First Century Fox.

Whoever prevails, it will shake up Disney’s plans. Twenty-First Century Fox will have to pay more for Sky, or Disney will lose a valuable property to Comcast.

In a statement, TwentyFirst Century Fox said that it “remains committed to its recommended cash offer for Sky,” which it made in 2016.

Disney, Comcast and others are rushing to strike major deals in a swiftly changing media landscape.

AT&T has bid more than $85 billion to take over Time Warner, a proposed merger that the Justice Department is attempting to block.

Consumers increasingly stream their movies and television shows over the internet. Upstart technology companies such as Apple and Amazon nurture ambitions to rival Hollywood’s big studios.