Sky's Future

Interesting article in tomorrow's FT in which speculation over Murdoch's continued involvement in Sky corporately is being questioned. It's behind a paywall so can't link. Apparently 'chatter' is such that several media organisations, notably Comcast, are supposedly running through the accounts. A breakup bid including BT in the mix is also mentioned.

Have the economics of the business really turned so sour that even Rupert is being put off. We know that the attrition of contracted monthly customers is real and being masked by lumping in NowTV users into a gross figure in their accounts and that several rights losses have happened sports wise. Are things really looking bleak ahead?

I'm expecting a denial but it'd certainly be an earthquake if it happened.

Could the Murdoch era at Sky be coming to an end? https://t.co/exLDWqfAKH pic.twitter.com/AevZlaFwhG

— Financial Times (@FT) December 3, 2015

Yipee!

Be careful what you wish for. While I know Murdoch is widely disliked - and I would not for a second suggest that his media outlets are above criticism - I think it also needs to be acknowledged that he is one of the few old-fashioned media proprietors left in the world. He pours money into, frankly, loss-making operations that contribute to wider community information and debate. Whether you agree with the political positions pushed by many of his outlets (and I would note that Sky News is far more neutral than other parts of his media empire), the media world would look vastly different - likely smaller - without his considerable investment.

Again, I have no problem with anyone criticising Murdoch. But if he were to pull out of Sky, I think it's fair to say that Sky could come to look like a very different operation -- and, in particular, I wouldn't bank on Sky News' future in that world.

I'd also question how a new owner would handle the budget product, such as NOW TV while not as revenue earning as the standard Sky product has helped to raise overall share, while also competing with Netflix and Amazon.

Once Sky Q launches, they'll have their three tier customer base from the premium to budget, something that Virgin, nor BT/TalkTalk have done.

Sky is a public company, and as such is "always for sale" - even if it has in the past behaved as if it were a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp or latterly Fox. At the same time Murdoch is 84 and as such succession planning must be a concern to shareholders (even though two of his children are involved in News and Fox at senior levels). If Comcast or such were to make an offer, Fox would really have to come up with a better offer or accept.