Are we missing something here?
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is satisfied that News Corporation’s planned float-and-leaseback of Sky News would “address concerns about media plurality“. An independent board will keep Rupert Murdoch from setting BSkyB’s agenda, apparently.
But what’s to stop Mr Murdoch launching a second, wholly controlled, British news channel? A Fox News UK, perhaps?
Certainly, there’s nothing we could find in the DCMS consultation documents suggesting Sky News has to be News Corp’s exclusive rolling news service for the territory. In fact, it’s not even exclusive at the moment (a bowdlerised version of Fox News’s US feed can be found on Sky Channel 509).
You can argue, of course, that the threat of Fox-isation has been overblown. Any new channel would also have to abide by Ofcom’s rulebook on impartiality in television — meaning the nation should be spared the daily flamebait of a domestic Glenn Beck. However, you could argue that the same restrictions apply to Sky News, and that wasn’t enough to satisfy Mr Hunt.
So, assuming the lack of a News Corp non-competition clause, how exactly does the spinoff safeguard media plurality? Answers below, please.
(HT: @Antonvowl.)
Related links:
Britain needs a channel like Fox News, says BBC Director General – The Guardian
Let the battle for Sky commence – FT Alphaville