Murdoch's Italian acquisition sparks monopoly concerns
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Your support makes all the difference.Rupert Murdoch's push to expand his European media empire with the €1.5bn (£900m) acquisition of the Italian satellite television channel, Telepiu, from Vivendi Universal, has sparked concern from opposition politicians about the virtual monopoly the deal gives the Australian media baron.
Italian centre-left opposition politicians have called for competition authorities to investigate the deal, which is also subject to clearance by Brussels. The deal would leave Mr Murdoch's News Corporation, which already owns Italy's number two pay-TV operator Stream, controlling the country's pay-TV landscape and 2.3 million subscribers.
"The acquisition of Telepiu constitutes an element of great danger for the Italian communications system and for the cultural autonomy of the country," Vincenzo Vita, a former communications minister, said.
However, Maurizio Gasparri, the Italian Communications minister, yesterday signalled the deal would be waved through in Rome. "There are no preliminary questions in what is related to Murdoch," he said.
The disposal of Telepiu, which was finalised over the weekend, would close the chapter on repeated attempts to combine the pay-TV businesses. It still rests on a number of conditions, including agreement from News Corp's partner Telecom Italia.
The preliminary deal marks the start of a long sought push into Italy for Mr Murdoch. It is News Corp's first major investment into a eurozone country. The agreement between News Corp and Vivendi will see the US group take 50 per cent of the combined Telepiu/Stream platform.
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