Watching TV, browsing the Internet, reading newspapers and making phone calls with a single device is not the future anymore. Digitalisation of information has been leading to a convergence era, where traditional boundaries between media sectors have blurred. As the current UK case of News Corporation’s bid for full control of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) shows, regulating the media market on the ground of pluralism of information has become a tough task.
Several UK institutions – the Government, Ofcom (the independent regulator for communications industries), and, perhaps within a few days, the Competition Commission – in addition to the European Commission, are playing a key role in a case that will reshape future UK media policies.