Media baron Rupert Murdoch is once again setting his sights on London. His $54 billion News Corp., which already owns The Times of London and tabloid The Sun, now plans to shell out $12 billion for a full takeover of broadcaster Sky TV. If the deal happens, media analyst Claire Enders has predicted that Murdoch will control half the U.K.'s newspaper and TV markets within a decade.
In a rare show of unity, Murdoch's rivals in the British media are clamoring for the government to block the sale. His papers may have backed David Cameron's Conservatives in the election, but Murdoch is not likely to get the government's blessing now. For one thing, Cameron's party failed to win an outright victory despite Murdoch's support. For another, the decision on whether to allow the takeover belongs to Business Secretary Vince Cable, a fiercely pro-regulation Liberal Democrat who recently raised a storm by publicly warning that "capitalism takes no prisoners, and it kills competition when it can."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
