James Murdoch Dismisses Claims that BSkyB Wants to Buy Five

BARCELONA,
November 14: BSkyB’s chief executive James Murdoch denied rumors that BSkyB is
interested in acquiring a stake in British broadcaster Five.

Speculation
has been rampant that BSkyB’s purchase of a 17.9 percent stake in ITV was
linked to a longer-term goal of getting control of Five. Analysts and media
reports have been saying that BSkyB wants to sell its stake in ITV to the RTL
Group, the owner of Five, in exchange for a controlling share in Five.

Murdoch told
analysts at a Morgan Stanley investor conference that this is not true. As
Reuters reports, Murdoch said, “There has been this big theory that Sky is
going to buy Channel 5, that is what they really want. I will just tell you
right now it isn't. I have said that before. Nobody believes me; I will say it
again. I will say it until I am blue in the face. There isn't some sleight of
hand that says actually what we really want is Channel 5, that is not the
case.”

While BSkyB
has repeatedly said it is satisfied with its stake in ITV, the Competition
Commission in the U.K. is investigating the purchase, and last week ITV
announced that BSkyB should sell its stake.

—By Anna Carugati