Paramount-Warner Bros deal faces ‘sufficient competition’, says CMA Media The Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger will face “sufficient competition” in the UK to prevent the combined Hollywood giant from gaining too much market power, the competition watchdog has said. In a full decision published on Monday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) laid out why it cleared the £111bn tie-up earlier this month, after examining [...]
Could a ‘land blocking’ rule change spell danger for Aldi and Lidl? Retail German discounters Aldi and Lidl have rapidly taken control of the UK’s budget grocery market in recent years. But could new curbs on ‘land blocking’ slow their insurgency? Only a few decades ago, Lidl and Aldi were oddities. By 2008, the German discount supermarkets had been in the UK for more than 10 years but [...]
Competition watchdog clears Paramount Warner Bros acquisition Media The UK competition watchdog has cleared the merger of Hollywood heavyweights Paramount and Warner Bros after concluding it does not pose an issue to competitiveness in the UK. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed it would not investigate the matter further on Wednesday, as it did not “give rise to a realistic prospect of [...]
ITV hands shareholders £100m returns after £1.6bn Sky deal July 31, 2026 ITV has announced a £100m share buyback as part of its commitment to return £950m to investors following its blockbuster £1.6bn Sky deal. The broadcaster said the “milestone” merger will “unlock significant value for shareholders,” as it posted a two per cent jump in revenue across the last six months. Earlier this month, ITV agreed [...]
Sky and ITV mount defence of £1.6bn merger as regulators probe deal July 24, 2026 Sky and ITV will argue their proposed £1.6bn merger controls only around a fifth of Britain’s advertising market as they seek to convince competition regulators to approve one of the biggest media deals in decades, City AM understands. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday invited comments on Sky’s planned acquisition of ITV’s Media [...]
ITV says ‘no guarantees’ on jobs after £1.6bn Sky deal July 6, 2026 ITV and Sky executives have said they can make no guarantees on job cuts after the two companies announced a £1.6bn merger on Monday. Employees of ITV have been warned the tie-up between Britain’s two biggest commercial broadcasters could lead to redundancies, and there are “no guarantees” over their jobs. Speaking after the acquisition was [...]
Nandy ‘minded to intervene’ in Paramount’s £85bn Warner Bros takeover June 30, 2026 Culture secretary Lisa Nandy will ask the competition and media watchdogs to probe Paramount’s £85bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery to ensure the mega-deal doesn’t stifle the breadth of Britain’s media ecosystem. The Wigan MP said on Tuesday that she planned to authorise both the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Ofcom to examine the [...]
Apple claims CMA app store shake-up could ‘open the door to scams’ June 30, 2026 Apple has claimed that proposed UK competition reforms to its App Store risk “opening the door to scams”, as the CMA prepares to push ahead with plans to loosen the grip Apple and Google hold over in-app payments. The watchdog on Tuesday launched a consultation on new conduct requirements under Britain’s Digital Markets, Competition and [...]
Housebuilding giants hit with £4.5bn lawsuit for allegedly overcharging buyers June 30, 2026 Seven of Britain’s largest housebuilders are facing a class action lawsuit worth a potential £4.5bn in damages over allegations they overcharged 700,000 buyers of new-build properties. Mark McLaren, former parliamentary and legal affairs manager at consumer group Which?, is planning on launching the claim against FTSE 100 firms Barratt Redrow and Persimmon, FTSE 250 companies [...]
Ryanair blasts ‘misguided’ watchdog over family seating probe June 25, 2026 Ryanair has slammed the “misguided” competition regulator over a probe into its family seating rules, claiming the watchdog has turned a “blind eye” to more serious issues. Michael O’Leary, the boss of the budget airline, claimed that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has forced it to “reluctantly” make a rule change which will make [...]