The Newsroom

News International and BSkyB

The future. (July 2011)

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BR
Brekkie
fodg09 posted:
Brekkie posted:
Would Murdoch be willing to do a News of the World on Sky News to try and save BSkyB if it comes to that - after all they've long said it isn't profitable.


Presumably that would be Jeremy Darroch's call, not Rupert Murdoch's.

And who do you think makes Jeremy Darroch's calls.

chris posted:
I can't seeus having a closure of Sky News. The NotW comparison isn't quite justified. The extent of hacking in the latter was far greater than Sky News, and was often for more "celebrity scandal" than criminal activity. Additionally, the reprocussions of closing Sky News would be far greater than NotW.

Most likely outcome? Some sackings and a fine I reckon.


With regards to Sky News not being profitable, I feel the broadcaster have a duty to provide news, in the same way ITV and Channel 5 do.

The broadcasting code isn't based on your feelings though is it, although I do agree with you. I agree too the scale of these events isn't why Sky might close Sky News - but might provide the excuse to cut it loose one way or the other. They are more likely I suspect to put it on the market and get some cash out of it rather than just close it - and though I'd like to think ITN would step up and re-enter the 24 hour news market and hopefully find their status once again, the reality is I suspect is that some middle Eastern broadcaster would take it off their hands.
:-(
A former member
Sky News is doing nowhere. It is good at what it does, despite people only ever highlighting the bad things. The coverage of Libya conflict last year shows why Sky News will remain part of BSkyB.
CH
chris
Shaun Linden posted:
Sky News is doing nowhere. It is good at what it does, despite people only ever highlighting the bad things. The coverage of Libya conflict last year shows why Sky News will remain part of BSkyB.


Why would the Libya conflict coverage affect the channel remaining part of BSkyB?
:-(
A former member
chris posted:
Shaun Linden posted:
Sky News is doing nowhere. It is good at what it does, despite people only ever highlighting the bad things. The coverage of Libya conflict last year shows why Sky News will remain part of BSkyB.


Why would the Libya conflict coverage affect the channel remaining part of BSkyB?


Because it shows what Sky News does best.

I know some really hate the channel, but come on lets be serious - there is no way Sky News is going or going to be closed down.

19 days later

DV
DVB Cornwall
Pack of cards ... anyone?

Murdoch Junior seems not to want to take prisoners.
MD
mdtauk
Inspector Sands posted:
It would never come to the stage where Ofcom just took away all of Sky's broadcasting licenses. Sky are 'too big to fail' - they are the biggest broadcasting company in the UK with a massive turnover and thousands of staff. To pull the plug would be unthinkable.

The worst case is that they'd just get News Corp to divest it's stake, although I'm not sure that Ofcom could do that by themself. Of course they could use the threat of license removal but Sky would call their bluff for the reasons above.

Also there's the factor of the platform. As far as I know that's not actually licensed, only the channels on it. Even if the unthinkable did happen then there's not really any way that Ofcom could stop Sky running the platform, albeit with none of their own channels on it


Here is a thought full of fright and delightful possibility

BSkyB placed into the hands of the BBC as a temporary measure while a buyer is sought. No doubt a big US company...

Or nationalised?
IS
Inspector Sands
mdtauk posted:

Here is a thought full of fright and delightful possibility
BSkyB placed into the hands of the BBC as a temporary measure while a buyer is sought. No doubt a big US company...

Why would they need to do that? If they are found to be not 'fit and proper' it's only 30% of the company's stock that would need a new owner. There's nothing to stop the company trading normally while a buyer is found

Assuming that 30% was sold intact it would almost certainly be a foreign investor, not necessarily another American one though - can you imagine Al Jazeera taking a massive stake in BSkyB!?
Quote:
Or nationalised?

Yeah, with money from where? Laughing
CI
cityprod
Inspector Sands posted:
mdtauk posted:

Here is a thought full of fright and delightful possibility
BSkyB placed into the hands of the BBC as a temporary measure while a buyer is sought. No doubt a big US company...

Why would they need to do that? If they are found to be not 'fit and proper' it's only 30% of the company's stock that would need a new owner. There's nothing to stop the company trading normally while a buyer is found

Assuming that 30% was sold intact it would almost certainly be a foreign investor, not necessarily another American one though - can you imagine Al Jazeera taking a massive stake in BSkyB!?
Quote:
Or nationalised?

Yeah, with money from where? Laughing


That presumes that NewsCorp will be found not to fit and proper. What if Sky itself, in the wake of their own admission of email hacking, are found not to be fit and proper? That opens up a whole can of worms, all of it's own. It's unlikely, at most a 10% chance, but it would fit the right wing ideology of do what ever you feel like until you get caught, then you'll be made an example of.

If NewsCorp are found not to be fit and proper, then first refusal has to go to the shareholders who hold the other 61%. (NewsCorp holds 39%) After that, then it's open season.
RO
rob Founding member
Jeremy Hunt has said:

Quote:
Now is not a time for kneejerk reactions. We've heard one side of the story today but some of the evidence reported meetings and conversations that simply didn't happen. Rather than jump on political bandwagon, we need to hear what Lord Justice Leveson thinks after he's heard all the evidence. Let me be clear my number one priority was to give the public confidence in the integrity of process. I asked for advice from independent regulators - which I didn't have to do - and I followed that advice to the letter. I would like to resolve this issue as soon as possible which is why I have today written to Lord Justice Leveson asking if my appearance can be brought forward. I am very confident that when I present my evidence the public will see that I conducted this process with scrupulous fairness."


Full article: ITV News
CI
cityprod
Quote:
Now is not a time for kneejerk reactions. We've heard one side of the story today but some of the evidence reported meetings and conversations that simply didn't happen. Rather than jump on political bandwagon, we need to hear what Lord Justice Leveson thinks after he's heard all the evidence. Let me be clear my number one priority was to give the public confidence in the integrity of process. I asked for advice from independent regulators - which I didn't have to do - and I followed that advice to the letter. I would like to resolve this issue as soon as possible which is why I have today written to Lord Justice Leveson asking if my appearance can be brought forward. I am very confident that when I present my evidence the public will see that I conducted this process with scrupulous fairness."


He knows he's not going to last 4 weeks, that's why he wants Leveson to bring forward his chance to reply to these. His position is untenable, he knows that, but he's trying to hang on, cos he thinks if he can withstand the pressure until the calls for his resignation go away, then he will be fine. I think after the old captain has his say tomorrow, the explosion after that will make today's explosion look like a firecracker. Expect the metaphorical equivalent of 1000lbs of ampho to explode onto the political scene tomorrow.
CR
Critique
rob posted:


Full article: ITV News



Never thought I'd see the day someone linked to an ITV News article...
RD
rdd Founding member
mdtauk posted:
Inspector Sands posted:
It would never come to the stage where Ofcom just took away all of Sky's broadcasting licenses. Sky are 'too big to fail' - they are the biggest broadcasting company in the UK with a massive turnover and thousands of staff. To pull the plug would be unthinkable.


Here is a thought full of fright and delightful possibility

BSkyB placed into the hands of the BBC as a temporary measure while a buyer is sought. No doubt a big US company...

Or nationalised?


The Government seizing control of a broadcaster in that manner would be unprecedented, and likely to be contrary to EU law. In addition you have to remember that despite appearances (and Murdoch sometimes treating it as such), BSkyB is not actually a wholly-owned of News Corporation, and is in fact still a publicly listed company. I wonder what the City would make of the Government seizing the issued share capital of a FTSE100 company?

It won't happen. Indeed if it came to Sky's licenses actually being revoked, I suspect they would merely relocate to another EU jurisdiction and broadcast to the UK and Ireland from there. After all, Astra is Luxembourg registered, outside the jurisdiction of the UK authorities. Television without Frontiers and the single market mean a State can't stop a broadcaster from another state broadcasting into it.

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