Rupert Murdoch agrees to offload Sky News for BSkyB takeover
Rupert Murdoch has agreed to sell Sky News in order to persuade the Government to grant the full takeover of BSkyB by News International.
According to the BBC’s business editor Robert Peston, News International will see off the loss-making 24-hour news channel while also agreeing to subsidise its funding for a number of years to the tune of £20 million a year apparently.
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt will decide whether the takeover deal goes ahead, with the European Commission having ruled in its favour.
The sale is due to concern of the impact that it could have on media plurality, with the company owning Sky News, as well as newspapers The Sun, News of the World, The Time and The Sunday Times.
BSkyB’s board has also yet to agree the takeover.