Culture Secretary may intervene following £1.6 billion Sky and ITV deal

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced she may intervene following the £1.6 billion deal for Sky to take over ITV’s media and entertainment arm and could bring in new streaming legislation.

Ms Nandy said her possible move to step in would be made on concerns over the impact of the deal on free expression of opinion in news media, plurality of views in news media and the need for a sufficient number of people with control in the sector.

But she also said she was considering intervention on the basis of a new public interest consideration to maintain a wide range of broadcasting to on-demand programmes to appeal to a wide variety of viewers.

This would need legislation to be brought forward, she added, given that current laws do not cover the effect of a merger on streaming or on-demand programmes.

She said: “Having considered the anticipated merger, I am of the view that there are reasonable grounds to believe that it might affect availability of a wide range of high-quality and varied programming on the on-demand platforms that are now widely used by UK audiences.

“Consequently, if I decide to intervene on the basis of this new public interest consideration, I will bring forward legislation which amends section 58 of the Act to extend the application of the public interest consideration relating to the availability of a wide range of broadcasting to on-demand programmes.”

Sky and ITV now have until October 20 to respond to the initial concerns raised by Ms Nandy over their tie-up.

If she decides to formally intervene, she would refer it to regulator Ofcom to assess the public interest issues, with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) looking at the deal on any possible impact on competition.

She would then decide whether a more detailed CMA investigation was needed, with plans to update Parliament at the “earliest opportunity”.

ITV struck a deal in July to sell its media and entertainment division to Sky, in a move which would create a major competitor to the global streaming giants.

The sale includes ITV’s terrestrial TV channels and streaming service ITVX but does not include its production arm, ITV Studios, which makes shows including I’m A Celebrity and popular dramas such as Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.

A Sky spokesperson said the group was “confident that bringing Sky and ITV’s Media & Entertainment business together will create a stronger British media business”.

They added: “We have already made clear commitments to protect ITV’s identity, its free-to-air services and public service broadcasting obligations, and to ensure ITV News and Sky News remain distinct editorial voices.”

ITV said it would “fully co-operate” with the Government on its scrutiny of the deal.

An ITV spokesperson said: “This is another important milestone in the regulatory review process towards creating a UK player with the scale and resources to better compete with global streaming platforms, benefiting viewers, advertisers and the UK creative industries.”