Foxtel gets closer to Austar swoop

The phone-hacking scandal might have slammed the brakes on Murdoch's bid for BSkyB in the UK, but in Australia Foxtel is getting closer to creating a national Australian Pay-TV monopoly with the acquisition of rival Austar. Definitive agreements have been announced between Austar's parent company, Liberty Global, and the …

[Rik42]

ACCC better nix it

Great idea guys. Creating a monopoly is bound to benefit the consumer.. Not.

[ceebee]

amazing isn't it...

that at the very same time the News Corp takeover of BSkyB is mired in the phone hacking scandal that seems to reach to the very heart of the News Corp and monopoly concerns, News Corp is on the verge of taking control of Australia's second satellite/cable company making Foxtel an effective monopoly.

[Barry 16]

They are virtually one company already

Nothing much will change. Austar uses Foxtel's satellites already and they don't compete in the same regions (Austar regional, Foxtel metro). So there is very little competition already.

[Mark Simon]

The other monopoly

Don’t forget Telstra. Giving Telstra a bigger cut of anything is seriously bad news for the consumer.

Any company that controls what you see as well as how you get to see it has too much power, IMHO.