Rupert Murdoch couldn't have pulled off a better one even if he'd tried.Much has been said and written about the Daily Telegraph sting job on Vince Cable and his surprising revelations on the coalition's internal conflicts and various issues including his "war on Mr Murdoch".
We also learnt that Cable has been stripped of his responsibilities for overseeing media and broadcasting companies, that he will no longer rule on the controversial Rupert Murdoch bid to take full control of BSkyB, and that his replacement is going to be Conservative Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Jeremy Hunt, a man whose views on Murdoch and his media empire appear to be very favourable to say the least.
We also learnt that Cable has been stripped of his responsibilities for overseeing media and broadcasting companies, that he will no longer rule on the controversial Rupert Murdoch bid to take full control of BSkyB, and that his replacement is going to be Conservative Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Jeremy Hunt, a man whose views on Murdoch and his media empire appear to be very favourable to say the least.
Coincidence, the announcement was met with BSkyB's shares leaping like a frog on crack. You can guess who is the only person benefiting from all this.
5 comments:
No-one's explained to me why News Corp taking the rest of BSkyB is a problem. They already control the company, so nothing will change...
Merry Christmas Cluade, here's to a 2011 sans trolls.
Cheers, Daniel.
Merry Xmas to you as well :-).
JackarTory allow me to explain that for you then.
Murdoch currently has a 39.1 per cent stake of BSkyB, but now he wants to buy the remaining 60.9 per cent. Full ownership of BSkyB would enable News Corporation to leverage its assets far more ruthlessly. It may even use its position to aggressively cross subsidise and cross promote its titles across broadcast and print.
Within a few years, the drift towards a commercial media monopoly in Britain may become unstoppable.
That raises serious issues of competition and media consolidation.
News Corporation already owns a larger share of British media than would be permitted in the US and Australia.
You may not mind a UK version of Berlusconi, but you'll find that most people do.
Oh so, that's what it's all about. It would really be amazing that within a few years, the drift towards a commercial media monopoly in Britain may become unstoppable.
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