ITV Wants Total Divestment Of Sky Stake

ITV has made a submission to the Competition Commission arguing that BSkyB should be made to divest its 17.9% stake to address issues of “material influence”.

The broadcaster’s submission is part of an ongoing consultation which is due to be completed by early December when the Commission hands over a full report to the secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, John Hutton.

The Commission has already found that Sky’s stake is against the public interest (see Sky Could Be Forced To Sell Stake In ITV At A ‘Substantial Loss’), and is currently looking at ways to enforce its conclusion.

In its submission, ITV said that the “only remedy” to the problem of Sky’s influence over its decisions is the complete divestment of its stake.

ITV said: “In particular, neither behavioural remedies nor a divestment to 9.9% would satisfactorily address the heads of material influence identified by the Competition Commission.

“ITV is also concerned that a reduction in BSkyB’s stake to 4.9% would not address all of the heads of material influence.

“However, if the Competition Commission were minded to propose a partial divestment, a reduction to 4.9% (accompanied by a prohibition on seeking or accepting board representation) would at least begin to address ITV’s concerns and would have a sounder analytical base than a reduction to 9.9%.”

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com Sky: 08702 40 40 40 www.sky.com