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Indeed, the most scathing loss could belong to the Murdoch family, who has been fighting for control of Sky for a decade or so. Mr. Murdoch, 87, co-founded the satellite television company in 1989 to compete with the British Broadcasting Corporation. Sky, which has 31,000 employees and generated $ 17 billion in sales last year, is one of the most popular TV brands in Europe. She creates her own original shows, runs an influential news channel and has exclusive partnerships in Europe with HBO, Showtime and Warner Bros.
After losing to Disney in the battle for 21st Century Fox, getting Sky has become a must for Comcast. This was, in some ways, the only way for the Philadelphia-based cable TV company to stay squarely in a media game now dominated by supertankers like Disney-Fox and AT & T, which recently finalized its takeover of Time Warner for 85.4. billions of dollars.
Mr. Roberts and his advisors began to consider Sky as an acquisition as early as July 2017, long before committing to the bidding war against Disney's assets for 21st Century Fox. Fox's 39% stake in Sky was the main reason why Mr. Roberts attacked the company, according to two people familiar with anonymity to discuss internal strategy.
For Comcast, pursuing Fox has always been about expanding its international business. Mr. Roberts cared much less about the other assets sold by the Murdoch family, including the FX and National Geographic cable networks. Cable operators such as Comcast, which operates primarily in the United States, have been faced with a decline in the number of pay-TV subscribers who have flocked to broadcast services such as Netflix. Roberts, who calls himself the company's chief negotiator, has identified Sky as a way to keep Comcast growing.
He was particularly seduced by Sky's technology. The UK broadcaster sells a set-top box that broadcasts over a broadband connection and includes applications such as Netflix or Spotify. Sky has developed the technology to be its delivery engine, a configuration similar to that of Comcast's Xfinity program.
Sky also holds valuable sports rights, including much of the English Premier League. This was considered a good deal with Comcast as its NBCUniversal division holds US rights to these games. In addition to the sport, the deal gives Comcast Disney and Fox content. Sky owns broadcast rights on the films of both studios for the European markets in which it operates for the next two to three years.
The British government oversaw the weekend auction for Sky, which included three blind auction rounds. At the beginning of the process, analysts like Amy Yong, of Macquarie Research, managed to make each party a 50-50 success. Commentators on Twitter debated if the best nickname was SkyBattle or BattleSky.
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