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OFT okays Sky’s Virgin Media TV deal

The UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has decided not to refer BSkyB’s takeover of Virgin Media’s TV channels to the Competition Commission, paving the way for the £160m (US$241.6m) deal to go ahead.

The move comes after the deal was given the greenlight by regulators in Ireland in July. The deal saw Sky paying Virgin Media an initial £105m in cash, with another £55m payable if UK regulators give approval, which they have.

BSkyB now owns what was once called Virgin Media TV but has since the takeover been rebranded Living TV Group. It houses the Living, LivingIt, Challenge, Challenge Jackpot, Bravo, Bravo 2 and Channel One (fka Virgin 1) channel brands.

News Corp-backed Sky sees the acquisition as an opportunity to tighten its grip on the UK cabsat TV market by expanding its basic line-up and eliminating the carriage fee it previously paid to VMTV to air the networks.

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