Sky News ‘will be sold to Disney or ringfenced’

News would be sold off to Walt Disney or ringfenced under improved concessions put forward by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox as part of its efforts to seize full control of broadcaster Sky.

Fox, which is attempting to buy the 61 per cent of Sky it does not already own, faces a number of regulatory hurdles after the UK’S competition watchdog found the £11.7 billion deal was “not in the public interest”.

It has now proposed either a legal separation and comprehensive ringfencing of Sky News or a sale of the loss-making channel to Walt Disney, which itself is attempting to acquire Fox’s entertainment assets.

The sale of Sky News to Disney would take place “whether or not Disney’s proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox proceeds”, Fox said yesterday.

It comes as the Competition and Markets Authority weighs up whether to recommend Fox’s deal for Sky to Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, who must decide whether to approve the deal.

Fox said: “We have worked diligently with the CMA throughout its extensive review. In fact, we believe that the enhanced firewall remedies we proposed to safeguard the editorial independence of Sky News addressed comprehensively and constructively the CMA’S provisional concerns.

“These enhanced remedies went above and beyond what Ofcom had stated would mitigate concerns around media plurality.”

The plan to hive off Sky News would see it legally separated from the rest of Sky, with a fully independent board and guaranteed funding from Fox for 15 years.

Fox added that it would not seek to influence the editorial choices made by Sky News bosses.

However, US broadcaster Comcast is lining up a showdown with Fox by mounting its own £22.1bn takeover approach for Sky.

The group, which owns NBC and Universal Pictures, wants to seize more than 50% of Sky.