Rupert Murdoch is eager to unite his European pay-TV businesses and turn BSkyB into a £22bn television giant. It would, says the Sunday Times, give the broadcaster "enhanced clout in the battle for football rights."
But a Sunday Telegraph report claims that Ofcom "is poised to obstruct" any such deal "based on media plurality concerns."
BSkyB is part of 21st Century Fox, which was split off from Murdoch's publishing interests last year and now form a separate entity, News Corp. Murdoch chairs both companies.
It was thought that the split would help Murdoch avoid regulatory obstacles. If the Telegraph is correct, however, that ruse will make no difference to Ofcom (and, arguably, European regulators).
Fox is known (via Bloomberg) to be in early discussions for BSkyB to buy Sky Italia, which it owns outright, and Sky Deutschland, in which it has a controlling 55% stake. Fox currently owns a 39% stake in BSkyB but the proposed deal could mean it taking full control of the combined company.
If the deals go ahead, Sky would gain control of companies that sell satellite TV to 8.5m households across Europe. With so many subscribers and the extra income, it would give BSkyB greater power in broadcast rights negotiations.
Murdoch was forced to abandon his last attempt to take control of BSkyB in 2011 in the wake of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.
Sky has long been the dominant pay-TV operator in Britain but it regards BT, which paid almost £900m last November for a three-year deal to broadcast live Champions League and Europa League football matches, as a growing threat.
Sources: Sunday Times/Sunday Telegraph/Bloomberg
