Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has stated that she is “minded to intervene” in Sky’s proposed £1.6bn acquisition of ITV’s media and entertainment division. Nandy indicated that there are reasonable grounds to suspect the transaction could negatively impact free expression in the media and reduce the variety of the UK’s news landscape. Under the proposed agreement announced in July, Sky would take over ITV’s free-to-air channels and the ITVX streaming service, though the deal excludes the production arm, ITV Studios, according to BBC News.

As reported by BBC News, Nandy is considering issuing a public interest intervention notice (PIIN) to prompt a formal investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and media regulator Ofcom. Her concerns center around the protection of news plurality, linear TV news concentration—noting that the BBC and a combined Sky and ITV would control 86% of the linear TV news market—and potential disproportionate impacts on regional audiences, such as in the North of England. Furthermore, Nandy noted that she might introduce new legislation to extend public interest considerations to cover on-demand and streaming programmes. Both companies have been given until October 20 to respond to the Culture Secretary’s concerns. Representatives for Sky maintained confidence that the merger will strengthen the British media landscape and create a stronger player against global streaming giants, while ITV welcomed the regulatory review process.