Enter Disney, which has a comparatively smaller presence in British media and carries no such historical baggage.
Much of its decision to propose buying Sky News lies in a desire to eventually own Sky, which has 23 million customers and holds lucrative broadcast rights to the English Premier League and other professional soccer leagues. Robert A. Iger, the American media giant’s chief executive, has called the broadcaster “a real crown jewel.”
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Disney said that it would hold onto Sky News even if Fox’s bid for Sky fell apart and that it would “sustain the operating capital of Sky News and maintain its editorial independence.”
Fox unveiled an alternative proposal as well: completely separating Sky News from its parent company, giving the news provider its own board of directors and agreeing to fund it for 15 years.
“We believe that the enhanced firewall remedies we proposed to safeguard the editorial independence of Sky News addressed comprehensively and constructively the C.M.A.’s provisional concerns,” Fox said in a statement.
And Sky added in its own statement, “Sky believes that both of these remedy proposals comprehensively address any plurality concerns the C.M.A. may have, and would guarantee the long-term future of Sky News and its ongoing editorial independence.”
Shares in Sky were up 2 percent, at 1,320 pence, on Tuesday’s news.
The competition regulator is expected to offer its recommendation on Fox’s bid for Sky by May 1. A final decision on the transaction by Matt Hancock, Britain’s culture secretary, is expected on June 13.
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Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/03/business/dealbook/sky-fox-disney-murdoch.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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