Sky HD TV remote control. Chris Radburn/Press Association. All rights reserved.On May 1, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) sent its final report to the Secretary of State, Matt Hancock, on the proposed acquisition by 21st Century Fox (Fox) of the 61% of Sky plc it does not already own.
This bitterly contested acquisition has already spent 18 months in regulatory hell. The CMA verdict has not been published, and may not be revealed before Hancock reports to the House of Commons in mid-June with his own decision as to whether the bid has been cleared (and even that may require a final public consultation before being confirmed).
In the course of an inquiry by Ofcom, the media regulator, and two by the CMA, Fox has steadily enhanced its proposals for protecting the editorial and financial independence of Sky News – the key sticking point for the multiple opponents of the Fox bid, determined to prevent any possibility of Rupert Murdoch or his family extending their influence over UK media.
