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Ofcom will not conduct assessment of BBC/UKTV deal

Deal sees BBC Studios take control of UKTV’s entertainment channels

Ofcom has said it will not conduct a formal competition assessment of the BBC’s UKTV deal.

Announced in April 2019, the deal would see Discovery take full control of UKTV’s lifestyle channels and BBC Studios UKTV’s entertainment channels.

Ofcom considered potential competition issues and said that its “trading and separation regulation sufficiently safeguards against any potential market distortion or unfair competitive advantage arising as a result of the UKTV deal.”

The regulator also decided not to complete an assessment of the BBC’s proposed merger of BBC Studios and BBC Worldwide into a single entity called BBC Studios.

“Taking the characteristics of the BBC’s proposed change, our trading and separation requirements, and the commitments provided by the BBC together, we did not consider it was appropriate to conduct a formal assessment under the agreement of the proposed change,” Ofcom said.