Television in the United Kingdom 4 Corp, according to BARB's viewing figures for January 2018. On 18 January 2011, then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt announced his intentions to set up a network of local television stations across the UK. The initial plan was to create a network of local television stations, connected through a national backbone. This plan would create a television network similar to that of the network-affiliate model in the United States and Canada. In June 2011, however, it was announced that the national spine plan would be scrapped, and a 'bottom-up' approach would be followed instead,
News Corporation takeover bid for BSkyB Corporation announced its intention to seek regulatory approval from the European Commission in November. The Commission unconditionally approved the proposal the following month. The proposal was also reviewed by the British government. On 4 November 2010 Business Secretary Vince Cable referred the takeover bid to Ofcom to consider issues of media plurality. In July 2011 it was reported that around this time News Corp's News International subsidiary had "bullied" the Liberal Democrats. "The Observer" said that "According to one account from a senior party figure, a cabinet minister was told that, if the government did not do as NI wanted,