Homepage

Claire Enders was quoted in an article on the decision of the European Commission to unconditionally approve the £11.7bn takeover of Sky by 21st Century Fox - saying it would raise no competition concerns in Europe. Claire said that the European clearance proved as straightforward as had been expected, adding that, “the issues are much more in the UK. This is another little hurdle cleared, but not much compared to the challenges ahead”.

Claire Enders was quoted in an article on a federal probe into Fox News - controlled by the Murdoch’s family - which could undermine their latest offer for Sky. The federal investigation into potential misconduct in the US is gathering steam just as British regulators are deciding whether 21st Century Fox would be a “fit and proper” owner of Sky — six years after the Murdoch’s abandoned their first attempt to buy the European broadcaster amid the phone-hacking scandal. It is not clear whether the US investigation of Fox News would fall into the scope of the fit and proper person test, although Ofcom’s guidelines are sufficiently wide to allow it to consider foreign investigations. Claire said the investigation “may weigh negatively” on Ofcom’s deliberations, adding that “it doesn’t look that great from the outside if federal prosecutors are pursuing things”.

Claire Enders was quoted in an article on the discarded plan to privatise Channel 4. However, the UK government has stepped up the pressure for Channel 4 to move part or all of its operations from London. Ministers have been considering whether to force the public service broadcaster to move to another major UK city, such as Birmingham or Leeds. Claire said “it’s a great relief that the government has realised that Channel 4 is sustainable long term and provides a valuable public service. With a licence to 2024 and soft advertising ahead, privatisation would have been difficult and very controversial.”

Alice Enders was quoted in an article on Brexit and the consequences for British firms. In particular, Alice focused on TV and film producers, which could be among the big losers if Britain leaves the European Union without a free trade deal. The impact would reverberate far beyond the creative sphere. Overseas sales of movies and TV shows, along with other creative work, brought in £13.9bn in 2015, accounting for 9% of non-financial services exports that year. A large chunk of that income would be cast into doubt by a hard Brexit. Under the current system, European broadcasters are obliged to buy 50% of their programmes from EU-based producers. Alice said “the quota system has been very valuable to Britain’s TV production industry”. Adding that “exports are becoming more important due to pressures on the licence fee and the budgets of commercial free-to-air broadcasters.”

Claire Enders was quoted in an article on François Fillon’s claim of being the victim of a “media lynching” and told reporters he had faced “a press campaign of unheard-of violence”. His criticism chimes with that of his chief opponent National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who also sees bias in the mainstream media’s coverage of her. Mr Fillon and Ms Le Pen’s combative tone reflects heightened tensions between France’s politicians and the country’s media, which have traditionally enjoyed a cosy, conciliatory and even incestuous relationship. Claire said “French politicians feel that the country’s press has become more demanding, journalists were more deferential before and they could be restrained. There was an established pact between the government and the media, which has broken down.”

François Godard was quoted in an article on the rising tensions between Mediaset and Vivendi over the Vivendi’s deal to acquire 3.5 percent of the Italian group. Despite reports in Italy of a possible peace deal between the two parties, Vincent Bolloré, Vivendi’s chief executive, has accused the Italian group of providing “misleading” information during negotiations. Francois said that he would “not be surprised” if Mediaset had been “too optimistic about its assets”, when the Italian group struck its agreement with Vivendi last April. He added that “they could have said a lot of things. But on the other hand I do not think Bolloré is a person who believes everything he is told.”