http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jun/04/bskyb-buys-virgin-media-channelsDeal for channels including Living, Bravo and Virgin1 expected to be first stage in consolidation of UK television market
BSkyB today confirmed that it has finalised the deal to buy Virgin Media Television, which operates channels including Living, for up to £160m in cash.
Sky will pay £105m up front on completion of the deal, with the remainder to follow completion of the regulatory process. The acquisition will need to be cleared by competition regulators in the UK and Ireland.
The pay-TV company is buying VMTV's portfolio of subscription channels – Living, Livingit, Challenge, Challenge Jackpot, Bravo, Bravo 2 – and Virgin1, which is available on digital terrestrial TV service Freeview.
Sky Media will also take over selling advertising airtime on VMTV's channels from Virgin's sales house, IDS, in January 2011.
As part of the deal, Virgin Media has secured new long-term carriage agreements for its cable TV network for wholesale distribution of Sky's basic subscription channels, including Sky1, Sky News and Sky Arts, and the services it is selling....... (more)
So this means that a FOREIGN media organisation now owns and controls all of these :
BSkyB
Virgin Media content
20% of ITV
The Sun
The Times
The Sunday Times
The News of the World
Can this be right?
