BSkyB Ruling Delayed Again

The European Commission (EC) on Thursday, March 2, 2000 announced a second delay to its decision on UK satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcastingís planned DM 2.9 billion ($1.48 billion) acquisition of 24 percent of German media giant KirchGroupís pay TV unit Premiere World, saying it needs more time to review new concessions put forward by the two groups. The ruling - originally slated for February 3, 2000, but put back until next Wednesday, March 8 after concerns arose over the possible exploitation of Internet content and digital decoder technology - has now been postponed until March 21, 2000. Neither company would comment on the delay, but BSkyB shares were unaffected Thursday. The EC, which acts as the antitrust watchdog for the 15-nation European Union, will now use the extra time to decide whether the concessions are sufficient to allow the merger to go ahead or whether to launch an in-depth, four-month probe.Source: The Hollywood Reporter