Murdoch Bid for Sky Control Hits New Bump as U.K. Official Hints at Inquiry<br />In June, the Office of Communications, or Ofcom, ruled<br />that Mr. Murdoch, the executive chairman of 21st Century Fox, and other company executives were “fit and proper” to hold broadcasting licenses in Britain, even as it concluded that a sexual harassment scandal at Fox News had amounted to “significant corporate failures.”<br />In August, the British culture ministry said it had written to Ofcom, seeking clarification<br />on its earlier review of whether the company would meet British broadcasting standards.<br />In an address to Parliament, the minister, Karen Bradley, said she was “minded” to refer the $15 billion deal to the Competition<br />and Markets Authority for a more intensive inquiry into concerns about whether Fox would uphold broadcast standards in Britain and whether owning all of Sky would give it too much control of the British media.<br />LONDON — Britain’s culture minister said on Tuesday<br />that she was inclined to ask the country’s competition regulator to carry out a detailed review of a bid by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to take full control of the British satellite television giant Sky.<br />The British competition authority offered its initial view on the transaction in June, saying the merged company would<br />control a significant chunk of Britain’s media landscape, including television, newspaper and online outlets<br />An acquisition of Sky would give 21st Century Fox control of a Pan-European satellite network<br />and rights to additional content, including broadcasts of English Premier League and other soccer leagues in parts of Europe.
