Find out more
The Rupert Murdoch media empire is set to become even more powerful, as the media giant Sky has threatened to close Sky News.
This comes as Sky said to the Competitive and Markets Authority (CMA) that they should not presume “the continued provision” of Sky News, Fox owns 39 per cent of Sky and wants full control of the News channel.
A political correspondent at Sky News for 16 years, Joey Jones who is now the head of public affairs at PR firm Weber Shandwick, said: “The messaging coming through is alarming for supporters of Sky News, but it runs completely counter to all the investment that there has been in the channel in all the recent months and years.”
He added that this is a risky move, saying: “Inevitably this will be perceived by those who are already hostile to the proposed takeover, particularly in the political arena, as sabre rattling and as a perceived threat by the company.”
However, BBC media editor Amol Rajan said they had lost, “an awful lot of money.
“It [Sky News] loses tens of millions of pounds, and I think the independent directors of Sky are sending a very clear message…
“That if they had to choose, maybe they’d prefer for commercial reasons to do the deal with 21st Century Fox rather than continue to fund the losses at Sky News.”
Sky said to the CMA in October that they “would likely be prompted to review” their position should the continued provision of Sky News in its current form unduly impeded merger and or other corporate opportunities available in relation to Sky’s broader business.”
Should the shareholders object to the merger then this would be the most likely outcome, the BBC said that they understand closing Sky News is the last resort if a buyer is not found.
Leave a Comment