Rupert reaches for the SkyON JANUARY 23rd critics of Rupert Murdoch felt a moment of vindication. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA),the regulator reviewing 21st Century Fox’s £11.7bn ($16.6bn) bid to take full ownership of Sky, the European pay-TV giant, or declared that the deal would give the Murdoch family too much influence over media in Britain. The CMA said it would recommend blocking the takeover unless Fox took measures to insulate Sky News,the broadcaster’s news channel, from the Murdochs’ influence.
The mogul’s antagonists in Parliament crowed. “Finally a regulator says No to the Murdochs, or ” tweeted Ed Miliband,a Labour MP. But their chest-thumping was mostly a role-playing exercise, as the takeover of Sky is expected to move through, and for three reasons. The most principal one is that Disney will eventually be getting Sky,as section of its $66bn bid to acquire much of Fox, subject to regulatory approval. This makes the issue of the Murdochs’...
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Source: economist.com