I was in the House of Commons Chamber today to hear the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Karen Bradley, confirm her decision on the proposed merger between Fox and Sky.
Earlier this week, the Secretary of State had announced that she was minded to refer the merger to the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) on the two public interest grounds of media plurality and a commitment to broadcasting standards objectives. In accordance with her obligations under the Enterprise Act 2002, the Secretary of State had invited the relevant parties to respond to her decision and granted them 10 days to do so.
During the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport Oral Questions session in the House of Commons Chamber this morning, the Secretary of State announced that the relevant parties had written to confirm that while they disagreed with her minded-to decision, they would not be making any substantive representations on it. As a result, she was able to confirm her decision to refer the merger for investigation.
The formal referral decision will be published in the coming days and from this point, the CMA has 24 weeks to conduct its investigation and provide the Secretary of State with advice. The Secretary of State said she will then make a final decision on whether or not the merger should proceed, including any conditions that would apply in order to do so.
I welcome the Secretary of State’s confirmation that she is referring the proposed Sky/Fox merger to the CMA. The Secretary of State has made every effort to ensure that this process is as transparent as possible whilst fulfilling her obligations under the Enterprise Act and I applaud her swift action in updating the House today before it rises for recess.