Nandy 'minded to intervene' in Sky's £1.6bn takeover of ITV entertainment arm
The culture secretary says the deal could affect free expression in the media and the variety of Britain's news landscape.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has indicated she is open to intervening in the proposed £1.6bn acquisition of Sky's media and entertainment division by ITV. She raised concerns that the deal could impact the freedom of expression in media and the diversity of Britain's news landscape. The proposed merger would give Sky access to millions more viewers and help both companies compete with global streaming platforms like Netflix.
However, Nandy believes that the deal could weaken the variety of views available to viewers, as 86% of the news market would be controlled by the BBC and Sky/ITV. She raised particular concerns about the North of England, lower socio-economic backgrounds, and nations other than England, as their main source of news would be broadcast news.
Sky and ITV have until October 20th to respond to the culture secretary's concerns. Both companies have committed to protecting ITV's identity, free-to-air services, and public service broadcasting obligations, and ensuring ITV News and Sky News remain distinct editorial voices.
Written by urgent.news from BBC News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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