Controversy over Sky's operation of pay TV services on Freeview began in 2006. It was claimed at various times that Sky was operating in an anti-competitive way in the British pay TV market. Similar concerns arose about Sky's procurement, distribution and charging levels of films on its Sky Movies service. Sky was exonerated by the Competition Commission in August 2012. Sky was found to have overcharged for its Sky Sports channels, and was ordered in 2010 to reduce its charges for these channels. Its terms for supplying the sports channels to other companies were also challenged in 2010–11; some of the complaints were upheld by the regulatory authorities, others were not. Another challenge, in 2009, concerned Sky's charges for listing free-to-air channels on its electronic program guide (EPG).
Gordon Brown stated in 2011 that during his term as prime minister (2007–2010), News Corporation attempted to affect government policy with regard to the BBC in pursuit of BSkyB's own commercial interests.
In June 2010, News Corporation launched a takeover bid for the remaining shares in the company. There was widespread opposition to the bid, on the grounds that it would give NewsCorp too dominant a position in the British media. The bid was withdrawn in July 2011 following the News International phone hacking scandal. The British Office of Communications (Ofcom) launched an enquiry that same month to determine whether BSkyB should continue to hold a licence to broadcast. In September 2012, Ofcom ruled that BSkyB could retain its licence.
An attempt by 21st Century Fox (the successor to News Corporation) in December 2016 to acquire the 61% share of Sky that it did not already own[1] led to concerns again being raised as to whether it would give the Murdoch family too dominant an influence over British media.[2] American media conglomerate Comcast entered a rival bid in April 2018,[3] and after an auction,[4] 21st Century Fox no longer has any stake in the company. As of October 2018, Sky UK is now wholly owned by Comcast.[5]
- ^ "21st Century Fox Agrees to Buy Sky". Bloomberg.com. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Fox News Scandals, Political Influence Concerns Cast Long Shadow Over Sky Review". Variety. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (25 April 2018). "Comcast launches rival £22bn Sky takeover bid". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ Waterson, Jim (20 September 2018). "Sky takeover battle must go to auction, orders regulator". the Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
- ^ Clarke, Stewart (9 October 2018). "Comcast Closes Deal for Fox's Sky Stake, Owns Over 75% of European Pay-TV Giant". Variety. Retrieved 29 August 2019.