Lisa Nandy has told Parliament that she is minded to intervene in Sky UK's proposed purchase of ITV Media and Entertainment Holdings for up to £1.6 billion.
The deal was announced on 6 July. Nandy said her department had since engaged with the companies and commissioned independent research before writing to their legal representatives.
Her existing concerns cover free expression, the range of views available in news media and the plurality of people controlling media businesses serving UK audiences.
She is also considering a new public-interest ground covering the availability of varied, high-quality broadcasting and on-demand programmes. Current legislation addresses linear broadcasting but does not extend the same test to streaming services.
Sky and ITV have until 9am on 20 October to make representations. Nandy stressed that she has not taken a final decision to intervene.
If she issues an intervention notice, Ofcom would examine the public-interest issues and the Competition and Markets Authority would assess the merger and its effect on competition before any decision on a fuller investigation.
