Darling Demands Ofcom Investigate Sky’s Stake In ITV

The secretary of state for trade and industry, Alistair Darling, has ordered communications watchdog Ofcom to conduct an investigation into BSkyB’s acquisition of a 17.9% stake in ITV.

“I am today asking Ofcom to conduct an initial investigation into the public interest issues that may be raised by this transaction and to report back to me,” said Darling.

“I wish to emphasise that this decision only means there will be an initial investigation by Ofcom and is without prejudice to any decisions I take subsequently on whether a fuller investigation by the Competition Commission may be necessary.”

The communications regulator will now report back to him by 27 April on whether the case raises public interest concerns about the “number of different owners of media enterprises”.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced in January that it too had concerns over the size of the stake and scale of influence Sky has acquired after the £940 million deal (see OFT Invites Comments On Sky Stake In ITV).

Virgin Media, formerly NTL, has also complained about the Murdochs’ recent purchase, saying the move was not in the public interest (see BSkyB’s Acquisition Of ITV Not In The Public Interest, Says NTL).

It is believed that the current disputes between the Murdochs and Richard Branson could have stemmed from Sky effectively blocking NTL’s merger with Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster late last year (see ITV Board Rejects NTL Merger Bid).

BSkyB: www.sky.com Virgin Media: www.virginmedia.com