Comcast outbids Fox to win control of Sky
Rupert Murdoch’s decade-long dream to control broadcaster finally scuppered
US media giant Comcast has outbid Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to win control of Sky, bringing to an end a protracted takeover battle that stretches back almost a decade.
In an unprecedented one-day auction, the US cable conglomerate paid £30.6 billion for the British broadcaster, making it’s the world’s largest pay TV operator with around 53 million customers.
Reuters says chief executive Brian Roberts “has had his eye on Sky as a way to help counter declines in subscribers for traditional cable TV in its core US market as viewers switch to video-on-demand services like Netflix and Amazon.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, the move will come as a bitter blow to Rupert Murdoch who has long harboured ambitions to take control of the 61% of Sky he doesn’t already own.
A takeover bid in 2011 was dropped in the wake of the phone hacking scandal, only to be renewed in December 2016.
Some politicians had opposed the takeover, however, citing concerns about the influence Murdoch would wield over the UK’s news agenda.
Murdoch has made numerous concessions to regulators, but in the end it was the last-minute intervention of a rival that scuppered his plans.
The media mogul and his sons Lachlan and James said that they are considering their next steps with regards to the 39% of Sky they still own and "will make a further announcement in due course," according to a memo to staff obtained by CNN.
“In the end, Comcast perhaps needed it more urgently with their home market in the US dwindling” says BBC business editor Simon Jack, “but the biggest cheers tonight will be from Sky shareholders - who have seen the value of the company driven up by two deep-pocketed rivals in the auction room”.
Comcast will pay them £17.83 pence per share - nearly double what they were worth a year ago.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 sleeper hit cartoons about Trump's struggles to stay awake in court
Cartoons Artists take on courtroom tranquility, war on wokeness, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The true story of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
In depth The writer's fall from grace with his high-flying socialite friends in 1960s Manhattan is captured in a new Disney+ series
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Scottie Scheffler: victory for the 'pre-eminent golfer of this era'
Why Everyone's Talking About Masters victory is Scheffler's second in three years
By The Week Staff Published
-
Rupert Murdoch steps down: a legacy of power and scandal
Talking Point Lachlan Murdoch succeeds his father as head of media empire
By Sorcha Bradley Published
-
Fox News: the high price of peddling lies
In Depth Murdoch is ‘unlikely to change his ways’ despite record settlement
By The Week Staff Published
-
The many wives of Rupert Murdoch
Under the Radar The 92-year-old media mogul is to marry for the fifth time
By Ellie Pink Published
-
Rupert Murdoch admits some Fox News hosts 'endorsed' false election claims
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Free app access for The Week’s subscribers during Royal Mail strikes
Speed Read If you have a subscription to The Week magazine you can read the digital edition on your tablet or phone
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will GB News survive the launch of TalkTV?
Talking Point Rupert Murdoch’s new channel hopes to outclass its beleaguered rival
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sienna Miller and The Sun: the scandal explained
feature Actress claims tabloid illegally sought medical records during her pregnancy
By The Week Staff Published
-
Chinese journalists forced into 90 hours of lessons to ‘learn the party line’
Speed Read State-accredited reporters to undergo training aimed at stamping out dissent
By The Week Staff Published