Aussie watchdog frowns on Murdoch bid

Australia’s competition watchdog has expressed concern at a bid by Rupert Murdoch’s cable television operation to buy out a rival, saying it would create “a near monopoly” of pay TV service in the country.

The statement by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is another setback for Murdoch, whose media empire is embroiled in a phone hacking scandal in Britain.