Senior execs at 21st Century Fox "mounted a robust defence" of the company’s £11.7B ($14.3B) bid to take full control of Sky after U.K. Culture Secretary Karen Bradley declared that she was "minded" to refer the bid to communications regulator Ofcom, according to Jill Sherman of the LONDON TIMES. This week, Bradley said that she had "public interest concerns about whether 21st Century Fox was committed to editorial standards such as accuracy and impartial news coverage." An earlier attempt by 21st Century Fox to secure control of Sky "collapsed" in '11 amid a "political row over phone hacking." On Wednesday, the company said that it recognized that Bradley had to seek advice from the Competition & Markets Authority and Ofcom so that any decision on public interest considerations could be considered on a fully-informed basis, "taking into account further factual information and technical matters." However, in a letter to the culture department, the company "pointed out several flaws in the minster's position" (LONDON TIMES, 3/9). In London, David Bond reported in its four-page letter signed by Fox Exec VP & Deputy General Counsel Jeffrey Palker, the company said that a report on media plurality prepared by campaign group Avaaz and the Media Reform Coalition, on which officials based the culture secretary’s "provisional view," was "flawed." Palker wrote, "These flaws include the misattribution of consumption of news on commercial radio to Sky ... the erroneous characterisation of News Corp as the ‘largest newspaper provider’ and inaccurate claims that rising online readership has ‘eclipsed’ the dramatic decline in circulation of News Corp titles" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 3/8). In London, Christopher Williams reported the company argues that "the internet has made the media environment more plural." It also highlighted data pointing to News Corp's "declining influence as a news provider." While in '10 it was the second-largest provider by share of references, last year "it was seventh," Fox said. Fox made "no direct reference to concerns" about the conduct of CEO James Murdoch, who Bradley said was "responsible for serious corporate governance failures during the phone hacking scandal." Instead, it highlighted its subsequent split from News Corp as a separately-listed company and new "strong governance measures." Bradley is "due to make a decision on referral to Ofcom within days" (TELEGRAPH, 3/8).
