Comcast and 21st Century Fox will settle their battle for control of broadcaster Sky through a rare auction designed to put an end to months of offers and counteroffers from the American media empires seeking a foothold in the European pay TV market. The auction will begin after the London stock market’s close on Friday […]
UK Culture Secretary Throws Murdochs a Lifeline to Sky
Britain’s culture secretary threw Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox a lifeline Tuesday in its 11.7 billion-pound ($16.4 billion) bid to buy the 61 percent of the U.K. satellite broadcaster Sky it doesn’t already own. In a statement to lawmakers, Matt Hancock said the sale of Sky News was a way to address public interest concerns […]
21st Century Fox Offers Concession to Seal Sky Takeover
21st Century Fox has offered to insulate Sky’s news operations from the influence of Rupert Murdoch and his family to win approval of its bid to take over the London-based pay TV company. Fox, in a submission to Britain’s competition regulator, said it disagrees with a preliminary finding that the takeover would give Murdoch too […]
UK Regulator Says Fox Takeover of Sky Not in Public Interest
British regulators said Tuesday that 21st Century Fox’s takeover of London-based pay TV company Sky is not in the public interest because it would give Rupert Murdoch too much control over the country’s news media. But they offered remedies that may pave the way for the deal go ahead. The regulator’s preliminary finding is the […]
U.K. Government Delays Murdoch Takeover of Sky
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government stalled Twenty-First Century Fox’s takeover bid of the Sky pay television and broadband network Thursday after media regulators expressed concern about the influence of Rupert Murdoch and his family. Culture Secretary Karen Bradley told the House of Commons that the takeover “potentially raises public interest concerns,” and referred the matter […]
BT Agrees to Hive Off Its Network Arm in UK
LONDON (AP) — BT, Britain’s former telephone monopoly, agreed Friday to hive off a unit that oversees the network used by all of the country’s phone and broadband providers in response to competition concerns. Communications regulator Ofcom said the company will turn its Openreach unit into an independent entity that will have its own board and chief […]
Delta Grounds Flights Due to Systems Problems
Delta Air Lines has grounded flights and predicted widespread cancellations Monday, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of passengers, after a power outage hit its computer systems globally. The Atlanta-based carrier said the outage began at around 2:30 a.m, though it was unclear how that affected the company’s global computer systems. Eastern. Flights which were […]
James Murdoch Becomes Chairman of Sky, Renewing Buyout Talk
LONDON (AP) — James Murdoch will be taking over as chairman of the board for European broadcaster Sky, a move that will renew speculation that his family’s media empire will try to take over the company, in which it already has a stake. The 43-year-old is the second son of tycoon Rupert Murdoch, whose family […]
Scientists Worry About Arms Race in Artificial Intelligence
Scientists and tech experts — including Prof. Stephen Hawking and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak — warned Tuesday of a global arms race with weapons using artificial intelligence. In an open letter with hundreds of signatories, the experts argued that if any major military power pushes ahead with development of autonomous weapons, “a global arms race […]
F-35’s no-show at Farnborough disappoints
LONDON (AP) — The failure of the Joint Strike Fighter to travel to England this week for a premier air show heaped further embarrassment on its developers as they try to convince skeptics that the $400 billion program was a price worth paying. The plane couldn’t cross the Atlantic to be gazed at by industry […]