Activist group Avaaz stepped up its battle to stop Rupert Murdoch buying Sky (SKYB.L), launching a legal challenge to the regulator’s view that the pay-TV group would still be a “fit and proper” owner of a broadcasting license if the deal goes ahead.
LONDON (Reuters) – Activist group Avaaz stepped up its battle to stop Rupert Murdoch buying Sky (SKYB.L), launching a legal challenge to the regulator&rsquo-s view that the pay-TV group would still be a &ldquo-fit and proper&rdquo- owner of a broadcasting license if the deal goes ahead.
Britain&rsquo-s broadcasting regulator Ofcom ran a &ldquo-fit and proper&rdquo- test when it assessed whether the $15 billion deal to bring Sky under the full control of Murdoch&rsquo-s Fox (FOXA.O) should be reviewed on the grounds of broadcasting standards and media plurality.
It said in June that if Sky were fully owned by Twenty-First Century Fox, it would still be &ldquo-fit and proper&rdquo- to hold a broadcasting license, and also said it had no serious concerns about Fox&rsquo-s commitment to broadcasting standards.
Despite Ofcom&rsquo-s recommendations, Britain&rsquo-s Culture Secretary Karen Bradley decided this month to refer the deal to a wide-ranging review on the grounds of broadcasting standards and media plurality, which looks at Murdoch&rsquo-s influence across Britain&rsquo-s newspaper and broadcasters.
Online pressure group Avaaz said it was filing papers in court on Friday seeking a judicial review of Ofcom&rsquo-s &ldquo-fit and proper&rdquo- decision.
It claims Ofcom did not correctly assess standards at Fox News and the track record of Fox CEO James Murdoch, Rupert&rsquo-s son, who was responsible for Murdoch&rsquo-s British newspapers during a phone-hacking scandal in 2011.
&ldquo-Repeated, large-scale scandals in the Murdoch empire indicate that something is very rotten at the core of their businesses,&rdquo- said Avaaz campaign director Alex Wilks.
&ldquo-Ofcom didn&rsquo-t dig deep enough before declaring the Murdochs fit to own even more of our media.&rdquo-
Ofcom said it would defend its ruling.
&ldquo-We will defend our &lsquo-fit and proper&rsquo- assessment, which was independent, expert and based on the evidence,&rdquo- a spokesman said.
James Murdoch said earlier this month that the deal should be assessed solely on the evidence and not to settle political scores.
&ldquo-Whether or not 30 years ago someone had a grievance about a political position that a newspaper took … is irrelevant,&rdquo- James Murdoch, who is CEO of Fox and chairman of Sky, said at the Royal Television Society&rsquo-s Cambridge Convention.
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