UK Clears Way for 21st Century Fox Bid for Sky

Britain’s culture secretary said that 21st Century Fox should be allowed to bid for control of the satellite broadcaster Sky -- as long as Fox sells 24-hour news channel Sky News. The news from Britain sets up a potential bidding war with Comcast for a jewel of Europe’s media industry. The decision by the culture secretary, Matt Hancock, ends months of uncertainty over whether the British government would block Rupert Murdoch’s efforts to buy the 61 percent of Sky that his company does not already own. But in a nod to concern over Murdoch winning too much control of Britain’s media landscape, Hancock also required the sale of Sky News. The decision frees Fox to sweeten its bid for control of Sky in the face of competition from Comcast. Murdoch’s offer values Sky at about $25 billion; Comcast’s values the broadcaster at $29 billion. Yet a fight for Sky is in some ways a proxy war for a bigger battle: one between Comcast and Walt Disney over control of a majority of Murdoch’s media empire.