21 November 2006
The decision of the media corporation BSkyB to purchase 17.9% of the shares in ITV has been heavily criticised by Sir Richard Branson.
Sir Richard said that BSkyB was attempting to dominate the market and that he would be seeking regulator intervention from Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading for what he called "a blatant attempt to distort competition".
If BSkyB are seen to be dominating the market, this will be bad for consumers as the lack of competition could lead to prices rising or stagnating.
The move was also accused of being damaging for viewers by Sir Richard, who said: "This move is seriously damaging to the interests of viewers, programme makers, artists and shareholders and the time has come for regulators, politicians and consumers to finally show that they're willing to stand up to reckless and cynical attempts to stifle competition and secure creeping control of the British media."
Rivals ntl, of which Sir Richard owns an 11% stake after selling Virgin Media to it, has so far not issued any official comment.
BSkyB noted in that under the Communications Act 2003, companies are prohibited from controlling an interest of more than 20% in a company like ITV.
Chief executive of BSkyB, James Murdoch, said in a conference call following the ITV move: "Our investment is a long-term and supportive shareholding in ITV. It reflects our belief that ITV's decline has been overstated. BSkyB would be supportive of the ITV board."
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