But Nandy has told Sky and ITV that she is considering issuing a public interest intervention notice (PIIN) to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and regulator Ofcom, forcing an investigation into the tie-up.
In a letter to both companies, she said she was minded to order the probe to address public interest considerations including:
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The need for free expression of opinion in news media
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The need for a range of views in news media across the UK
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The need for a range of people controlling the media across the UK
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The need for a wide range of programmes to be offered across the UK
The letter said Nandy recognised Sky News and ITV News were two of the most prominent sources of television news in the UK, with a joint 26% share of those viewing news on linear TV.
Consumers would still have access to other sources of news such as the BBC and Channel 4, it added.
But Nandy believes that, over time, the tie-up could undermine the range of views available to viewers, with 86% of the linear TV news market controlled by the BBC and Sky/ITV.
The North of England could be particularly hard hit as well as nations of the UK other than England and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, the letter argued.
This is because their main source of news is broadcast news, it added.
Sky and ITV have been given until 20 October to respond to the culture secretary’s concerns.
A Sky spokesperson said: “We have already made clear commitments to protect ITV’s identity, its free-to-air services and public service broadcasting obligations, and to ensure ITV News and Sky News remain distinct editorial voices.”
An ITV spokesperson said: “We welcome the publication of the secretary of state’s ‘minded to’ issue a public interest intervention notice letter as was expected and look forward to fully co-operating in the process.
“This is another important milestone in the regulatory review process towards creating a UK player with the scale and resources to better compete with global streaming platforms, benefiting viewers, advertisers and the UK creative industries.”
Nandy’s intervention would be made under a new public interest consideration.
This would need legislation to be brought forward, given that current laws do not cover the effect of a merger on streaming or on-demand programmes.
She said: “If I decide to intervene on the basis of this new public interest consideration, I will bring forward legislation… to extend the application of the public interest consideration relating to the availability of a wide range of broadcasting to on-demand programmes.”
