Lisa Nandy has said she is “minded to intervene” in the proposed £1.6bn deal for Sky to buy ITV’s media and entertainment division.
The culture secretary said there were reasonable grounds to believe the deal could affect free expression in the media and the variety of Britain’s news landscape.
Sky said it would “carefully consider” a letter from Nandy and “engage constructively” with the review into the deal.
“We remain confident that bringing Sky and ITV’s media and entertainment business together will create a stronger British media,” it said.
The two companies announced in July that Sky had agreed to buy ITV’s broadcasting business, including its free-to-air TV channels and the ITV X streaming service.
The deal does not include ITV’s production arm, ITV Studios, which makes popular programmes such as Love Island and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.
Nandy has told Sky and ITV that she is considering issuing a public interest intervention notice (PIIN) to the competition watchdog, forcing it to investigate the tie-up.
In a letter to both companies, she said she was minded to order the investigation so the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) could address public interest considerations including:
The need for free expression of opinion in news media
The need for a range of views in news media across the UK
The need for a range of people controlling the media across the UK
The need for a wide range of programmes to be offered across the UK
The letter said Nandy recognised Sky News and ITV News were two of the most prominent sources of television news in the UK, with a joint 26% share of viewers.
Consumers would still have access to other sources of news such as the BBC and Channel 4, it added.
But Nandy believes that, over time, the tie-up could undermine the range of views available to viewers, with 86% of the news market controlled by the BBC and Sky/ITV.
The North of England could be particularly hard hit as well as nations of the UK other than England and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, the letter argued.
This is because their main source of news is broadcast news, it added.
A Sky spokesperson said: “We have already made clear commitments to protect ITV’s identity, its free-to-air services and public service broadcasting obligations, and to ensure ITV News and Sky News remain distinct editorial voices.”
ITV has been approached for comment.
