Comcast Launches 22bn-pound Bid For Sky TV

Comcast, the owner of NBC and Universal Pictures, has launched a bid for British pay TV broadcaster Sky that threatens to thwart the takeover ambitions of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

The firm is offering 22.1 billion pounds for Sky. The proposed cash offer values each Sky share at 12.50 pounds, which represents a 16 percent premium to the bid made by Murdoch's 21st Century Fox.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts called Sky "an outstanding company" that would boost Comcast's global presence.

He noted that Comcast already has a strong presence in London and would use Sky as a "platform" for growth in Europe.

Fox's bid to buy the 61 percent of Sky it does not already own has been slowed by regulatory problems in Britain.

The primary problem is a preliminary finding by the competition regulator that a Fox takeover would give the Murdoch family too much control of Britain's media.

The competition authority last month raised concerns about Murdoch's power because his family trust already controls newspapers such as the Times and the Sun, and the deal would increase its control of the influential Sky News channel.

Shares in Sky surged Tuesday upon the announcement of Comcast's interest. (AP)