Reform, media upheaval and Brexit, Murdoch will try again to buy Sky TV

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch tried to buy Sky, an European pay-TV provider, but missed the opportunity because of his company's mistakes. Six years later, the media mogul revived the plan, and now he is counting on the upheaval in the media empire and British policy to clear the way for his plan.

earlier, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch tried to buy Sky, an European pay-TV provider, but missed the opportunity because of his company's mistakes. Six years later, the media mogul revived the plan, and now he is counting on the upheaval in the media empire and British policy to clear the way for his plan.

since 2010, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has split into two companies, one of which is in charge of the newspaper group in the UK, while the other is participating in a Sky bid to bring it into its own film and television holding group. Merkel's newspaper business, which was embroiled in the phone-hacking scandal, has long been closed. A new government has been formed in Britain after the Brexit vote, and the inherent pattern of the domestic media has also been broken.

"I think this acquisition will get full regulatory approval by the middle of next year," Claire Enders, a media analyst, said in an interview, saying that the companies involved in the bid had "changed beyond recognition".

after the Brexit vote, Theresa May, the new British prime minister, is eager to boost investment in Britain. While focusing on high corporate spending such as rising executive pay, she also welcomed overseas acquisitions of British companies, including the previous acquisition of British chip designer ARM Group by Japan's Softbank Corp. Group.

however, critics who opposed Rupert Murdoch's acquisition of Sky quickly banded together to call on May to scrutinize the new deal. The previous phone hacking scandal shook Murdoch's media empire and exposed the dark side of the British news industry, which is still fresh in people's memory. Any move that involves ownership of the media industry will draw attention to the "majority" and differences in news and entertainment sources.

"the way Teresa May's government handled this is a test of whether they can be immune from the influence of big conglomerates," said Vince, a former business secretary under former Prime Minister David Cameron. That's what Cable said about previous acquisition plans with regulators. "as with the acquisition six years ago, it does threaten the diversity of the British media industry."

these concerns are precisely because Murdoch controls the Times, the Sun and the News of the World, three of Britain's largest newspapers, all of which are owned by his News Corporation. By taking full control of Sky, he was able to acquire Britain's largest pay-TV provider.

but Murdoch shut down the News of the World in 2011 after reporters eavesdropped on voice messages left by celebrities on their mobile phones and Milly Dowler, the victim of a teenage murder. Rebecca Brooks, chief executive of News Corp.'s UK news division, was acquitted after being charged with phone hacking.

Rupert Murdoch and his son James also attended the hearing with Brooks, then chairman of Sky and chief executive of Rupert Murdoch News Corp. Their performance also led the committee to point out in its report that Murdoch was "unfit to manage a large international conglomerate".

"given that another major media is likely to be transferred to the company, if Sky shareholders agree to the acquisition, then Ofcom should review its qualifications," Labour legislator Tom Watson said in an email on Friday. He also helped draft a report by parliamentary members criticizing Rupert Murdoch.

the British Office of Communications (Ofcom) declined to comment.

in 2013, Murdoch split News Corp. into two companies, one following the original name and continuing to run the original newspaper news, and the other named 21 Century 21st Century Fox, which runs the television and entertainment section. The company said on Friday that Foss had reached a preliminary agreement to take full control of Sky. It is also Sky's largest shareholder, with a stake of 11.2 billion pounds ($14.1 billion) in the company.

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although Murdoch still controls News Corp. and Foss, the break-up of the two companies may cater to British rules on media diversity, analyst Ian Whitaker said in a report. Regulators aim to prevent any company from exerting too much influence on the news.

before Rupert Murdoch withdrew his acquisition of Sky in 2011, the British government proposed to split Sky's news division into a separate company to maintain the diversity of the news editing industry. That is, since then, the circulation of newspapers and periodicals has plummeted and digital media has increased rapidly, which has fundamentally changed the pattern of the media industry.

if the acquisition attracts widespread public attention, British Culture Secretary Karen Bradley will decide whether to consult regulators on the matter. At this stage, the Department of Culture, Information and Sports will not issue any official comment, said a person familiar with the government think-tank. The matter is at a sensitive period.

"it is clear that these issues still need to be seriously considered and I am confident that Ofcom will take them into account," former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said in an interview.

Edit: yvette