BSkyB have four weeks to respond to a ruling issued yesterday by the competition authorities regarding its stake in ITV. As much previously reported, Sky controversially took a 17.9% stake in the third channel in 2006. Although the share purchase was within media ownership rules, many in the TV industry expressed concern at the competition implications of the purchase - arguing it gave Sky too much power over one of its key competitors. Competition officials have been considering the share purchase for a while now and have now ordered Sky to reduce their shareholding to 7.5%. Obviously they aint gonna get what they paid for the sudden sale of the 10.9% stake, and city types reckon they could lose up to £250 million on the deal. Sky is expected to appeal.
Jan 30, 2008
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1 min read
Sky expected to appeal ITV share ruling
BSkyB has four weeks to respond to a competition ruling ordering it to cut its ITV stake to 7.5%, and is expected to appeal.