Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has indicated she may intervene in Sky's £1.6 billion acquisition of ITV's media and entertainment division, and could introduce fresh streaming legislation.
Ms Nandy said her potential intervention would be driven by concerns regarding the deal's impact on free expression of opinion in news media, plurality of views in news media, and the necessity for sufficient diversity of control within the sector.
New public interest consideration
However, she also revealed she was contemplating stepping in on the grounds of a new public interest consideration aimed at preserving a broad range of broadcasting and on-demand content that appeals to diverse audiences.
This would require new legislation to be tabled, she noted, given that existing laws do not address the effect of mergers on streaming or on-demand services.
She said: "Having considered the anticipated merger, I am of the view that there are reasonable grounds to believe that it might affect availability of a wide range of high-quality and varied programming on the on-demand platforms that are now widely used by UK audiences."
"Consequently, if I decide to intervene on the basis of this new public interest consideration, I will bring forward legislation which amends section 58 of the Act to extend the application of the public interest consideration relating to the availability of a wide range of broadcasting to on-demand programmes."
Deadline and regulatory scrutiny
Sky and ITV now have until 20 October to respond to the initial concerns raised by Ms Nandy regarding their proposed tie-up.
Should she opt to formally intervene, she would refer the matter to regulator Ofcom to examine the public interest implications, while the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would scrutinise the deal for any potential impact on competition.
She would subsequently determine whether a more in-depth CMA investigation was warranted, with Parliament set to be updated at the "earliest opportunity".
Deal details and response
ITV struck a deal in July to offload its media and entertainment division to Sky, a move that would create a formidable rival to the global streaming giants.
The sale encompasses ITV's terrestrial TV channels and streaming platform ITVX, though it excludes its production arm, ITV Studios, which is responsible for producing programmes including I'm A Celebrity and popular dramas such as Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.
ITV confirmed it would "fully co-operate" with the Government throughout its scrutiny of the deal.
An ITV spokesperson said: "We welcome the publication of the Secretary of State's 'minded to' issue a public interest intervention notice letter as was expected and look forward to fully co-operating in the process."
"This is another important milestone in the regulatory review process towards creating a UK player with the scale and resources to better compete with global streaming platforms, benefiting viewers, advertisers and the UK creative industries."
