News Corporation takeover bid for BSkyB early July, despite public opposition to the deal, "Government says its ready to give clearance to deal. Jeremy Hunt gives opponents one final week to raise objections. However, he has provisionally agreed to proposals that will see Sky News be spun off as an independent company to allay fears the deal would give Mr Murdoch's News Corporation too much control of the media. After the consultation ends on July 8, Mr Hunt is expected to wave the merger through once and for all. He is keen to give final confirmation by July 19 when the summer parliamentary recess begins." Several
Criticisms of Sky UK accounting for a third of Fleet Street and the BBC – jointly wrote to Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, to lay out their reasons for the BSkyB share bid being a breach of media plurality. The BBC's contribution to the letter was subsequently attacked in a (News International owned) Times editorial. Ofcom complained that Sky's plan to operate pay TV services on Freeview was "generating serious consumer detriment" and the National Consumer Council call Sky's plan "bad news for consumers," combined with representations from BT, Setanta, Top Up TV, and Virgin Media caused Ofcom to launch an investigation into the