If you think there's nothing quite like watching Sky News on loop to make you feel like you're on holiday abroad somewhere, then we have some bad, erm, news for you.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sky has warned that it may have to shut down its perpetually-soothing channel if the planned deal with 21st Century Fox does not go ahead.

The deal, which is expected to cost almost £12 million, is currently being examined by UK regulatory body the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Sky News' future has been thrown into doubt after the CMA raised concerns that the deal would give the Murdoch-controlled Fox too much of a monopoly within the media.

this image is not availablepinterest
Bear Grylls//Digital Spy

[Rupert Murdoch]

In response, Sky has now claimed that it could shut down its popular 24-hour news channel should Fox be blocked from buying out the portion of Sky it does not already own.

Drama.

Hitting back at the CMA's worries that its buy-out of Sky would not 'genuinely commit' to existing broadcasting standards, Fox said: "The CMA should not simply assume the continued provision of Sky News and its current contribution to plurality, absent the transaction."

Ofcom, the UK's broadcasting watchdog, has also weighed in, determining that the Murdochs' monopoly in the media would not impact media plurality to the extent feared.

If Fox's further acquisition of Sky was considered alongside the Murdochs' News Corp (which also owns three British newspapers), the assets would only be the third-largest news provider in the UK, apparently.

But hey, even if Sky News does shut down, at least we have all kinds of fun over on BBC News to console us.

giphyView full post on Giphy
From: Digital Spy