Image: Robert ShankboneSky has threatened to close its news service down if the bid for the company by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox is rejected by regulators.
Rupert Murdoch is reportedly proud of Sky News. Take this quote from the Guardian from back in 2011: “When Rupert Murdoch launched Sky TV back in 1989 his real passion was for Sky News.”
Truth is, even Murdoch’s biggest critics grudgingly respect the Sky news service.
But now the Competition Markets Authority is investigating the Fox bid for Sky.
Yesterday, however, in a statement, Sky said that it “would likely be prompted to review the position in the event that the continued provision of Sky News in its current form unduly impeded merger and/or other corporate opportunities available in relation to Sky’s broader business.”
But then that is modern broadcasting for you. People are willing to pay to view the latest episodes of ‘The Walking Dead’ or The Game of Thrones’ but paying for news is a much harder sell.
And in an age when most of the advertising revenue on the internet accrues to Google and Facebook, it is hard to see how producers of quality broadcasting journalism can compete.
