Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy signaled her intention to intervene in Sky's £1.6bn acquisition of ITV's broadcasting business, citing concerns about media plurality and free expression in news.
Nandy told both companies on October 9 that she is "minded to" issue a public interest intervention notice (PIIN) to the Competition and Markets Authority and Ofcom, triggering a mandatory investigation. She identified four public interest grounds for the probe: free expression in news media, range of views across the UK, diversity of media ownership, and variety of programming offered nationally.
The deal, announced in July, would transfer ITV's free-to-air channels and ITV X streaming service to Sky, excluding ITV Studios. Sky and ITV argue the combination would create a stronger competitor to streaming giants like Netflix and benefit UK viewers and the creative industry.
Nandy's letter flagged that Sky News and ITV News together hold 26% of linear television news viewing. Combined with the BBC's dominance, she wrote, Sky and ITV would control 86% of the linear TV news market. She expressed particular concern that viewers in the North of England, non-English nations, and lower socio-economic groups who rely heavily on broadcast news could face reduced variety of viewpoints.
Both companies must respond to Nandy's concerns by October 20. Sky committed to protecting ITV's identity, free-to-air services and public service obligations while keeping ITV News and Sky News "distinct editorial voices." ITV said it welcomed the review as "an important milestone" toward building a competitor scaled to challenge global platforms.
Nandy's intervention requires new legislation. Current media merger law does not cover on-demand or streaming services. She indicated she will introduce legislation to extend public interest protections to streaming platforms if she decides to formally intervene based on these concerns.