BSkyB stake in ITV 'against public interest'

BSkyB’s ownership of a 17.9% stake in broadcaster ITV restricts competition and “operates against the public interest”, provisional findings from the Competition Commission said today.

The group now faces the prospect of having to sell down its stake, which it acquired for £940m (€1.3bn) last November.

The final decision on what action should be taken will be made by Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Secretary John Hutton.

The group’s surprise move to snap up the ITV shares caused controversy by scuppering Virgin Media’s ITV merger plans, drawing fire from major Virgin Media shareholder Richard Branson.