Investigations into BSkyB handed over to DTI

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Alistair Darling, is now studying reports from Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) into BSkyB's acquisition of ITV.

Both Ofcom and the OFT reports separately state the belief that there are public interest issues surrounding the deal.

Ofcom was asked on 26 February 2007 by Darling to conduct an initial investigation into Sky's acquisition of a 17.9 per cent stake in ITV plc to see if it was not in the public's interest under the Enterprise Act 2002.

Sky bought the stake in November 2006 in a move that was seen by some as a means of blocking any potential merger between ITV and cable giant NTL/Telewest (now known as Virgin Media).

At the same time the OFT has been conducting a parallel investigation into the issue which looked at the competition issues raised by the transaction.

Both Ofcom and the OFT handed the results of their investigations to the Department of Trade and Industry on Friday as requested. Ofcom's advice to Darling is that there are public interest issues, in relation to sufficient plurality of news provision for both cross media and television news in the UK.

The OFT has voiced similar concerns in its report; it has asked that the acquisition now be referred to the Competition Commission.

Darling must decide by 26 May 2007 at the latest whether there is any public interest basis for not going ahead with the referral. The OFT and Ofcom will publish their reports on or before this date.