U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley is referring Fox's planned buy of Sky to the Competition and Markets Authority for a full, six-month investigation, she said in a statement Thursday to Parliament. The CMA investigation is to be on media plurality and genuine commitment to broadcasting standards grounds, she said. She said she received letters from Sky and Fox confirming they disagreed with her announcement Tuesday that she likely would refer the deal (see 1709120010) and that CMA will provide a recommendation on whether to allow the transaction, including possible conditions. Fox in a statement said it "look[s] forward to engaging constructively with the CMA, as independent authority, and hope that the findings of this process will be respected by the Secretary of State." It still hopes to close on Sky by the end of June.

​President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday blocking Canyon Bridge Fund’s $1.3 billion acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor, supplier of smart connectivity products for Ultra HD and other applications, on national security grounds, said the White House. Canyon Bridge is a private equity fund with investors that include China Venture Capital Fund Corp., which is “owned by Chinese state-owned entities that manages industrial investments and venture capital,” said a White House statement. Trump blocked the sale under 1950's Defense Production Act, which authorizes the president to “suspend or prohibit certain acquisitions that result in foreign control of a United States business if he concludes, among other things, that there is credible evidence that the foreign interest exercising control might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,” said the White House. Cited national security risks include “the potential transfer of intellectual property to the foreign acquirer,” the importance of semiconductor “supply chain integrity” to the U.S. government and the fact that the U.S. government buys Lattice products. Lattice representatives didn’t comment. The company's 8-K filing Sept. 1 at the SEC said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States would recommend to Trump that he should block the deal. “Lattice remains of the view that the proposed transaction does not raise any national security concerns that cannot be addressed by the comprehensive mitigation measures that Lattice and Canyon Bridge have proposed to implement,” the company said then.

U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley wants to refer Fox's planned buy of Sky to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for a full, six-month investigation, she said in a statement Tuesday to Parliament. She cited media plurality and commitment to broadcasting standards issues as the reason. She said since Ofcom concluded "there are non-fanciful [broadcasting standards] concerns" with the deal (see 1708250035), those concerns meet the threshold for a reference on broadcasting standards grounds. She said CMA might want to look at the lack of procedures for broadcast compliance in the U.K. for Fox News, since Fox established such procedures only after Ofcom raised the issue, and look at corporate governance issues and whether Fox will have "a genuine commitment" to broadcasting standards. She said the parties had 10 days to respond to her proposed decision to refer to CMA, after which she will come to a final decision. Fox in a statement said it was disappointed, and cited Ofcom concluding that it and Sky have compliance records consistent with comparable license holders and that Ofcom in August said there weren't sufficient concerns to warrant referring the deal based on broadcast standards consideration. Fox said it's "surprised that after independent regulatory scrutiny and advice, and over four months to examine the case, the Secretary of State is still unable to form an opinion," and it still expects to close on Sky by June 30. Bradley's announcement "is more a political issue" than an actual question of Fox commitment to broadcast standards, Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker emailed investors: "Ms. Bradley is trying to disentangle herself from shouldering the responsibility of this deal."

The FTC won't oppose Verizon's buy of WideOpenWest's Chicago-area fiber network assets, said an early termination notice Thursday, ending the transaction’s Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period. Verizon last month announced the $225 million deal, expected to close in Q1 (see 1708020011).

CBS CEO Les Moonves emphatically denied Thursday the network is in talks to acquire CNN. Rumors of such a deal are "real fake news," he said at an Economic Club luncheon, saying he hasn't talked with executives at CNN or parent Time Warner. A TW spinoff of CNN was speculated as part of AT&T's bid for the cable network (see 1701130018). TW didn't comment. Moonves said a programming talent war is growing with streaming services' original content and with tech companies getting increasingly into the TV space. He said CBS' competitive niche is in programming expertise and its broadcast assets' mass audience. With the growth of skinny programming bundles, CBS's strategy is to always be part of those skinnier bundles alongside its CBS All Access direct-to-consumer streaming service, he said. He also predicted a rebound in NFL ratings this season, chalking up last year's 8 percent ratings decline to more interest in presidential election coverage and anemic Thursday night game matchups. Meanwhile, DOJ may soon OK AT&T/TW, reported the Los Angeles Times earlier that day. DOJ didn't comment.

E.W. Scripps' Newsy over-the-top news network will become a cable network through a purchase of carriage contracts from the Retirement Living TV (RLTV) cable network, Scripps said Wednesday. It said after the takeover of RLTV's carriage agreements covering about 26 million subscribers RLTV will be reprogrammed with Newsy's lineup of programming already available to virtual MVPDs. It said the transition will begin in coming months, with Newsy ultimately reaching about 40 million cable and direct broadcast satellite subscribers by the end of 2018. It said the purchase price of the carriage contracts will be up to $23 million, depending on the number of subscribers that come under contract with the cable companies and convert to Newsy.

Voxx closed on its sale of Hirschmann Car Communication to a subsidiary of TE Connectivity, it said in a Thursday announcement. The company said in June (see 1706260020 or 1706260033) it was selling Hirschmann and its antenna and tuner business but will continue its automotive aftermarket business through proprietary brands and third-party distribution agreements for rear-seat infotainment, satellite radio products, telematics, car security and remote start products. Voxx received approximately $170 million from the sale.

The FCC shouldn’t approve Sinclair buying Tribune without first relaxing newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rules, said newspaper publisher Steinman Communications in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 17-179. Sinclair said in opposition comments (see 1708230061) it wants the FCC to rule on the deal after the outcome of expected action to relax ownership rules, Steinman said. The FCC shouldn’t allow Tribune's buyout without also removing barriers to newspapers making deals, Steinman said. “Steinman’s publications would face a strengthened, consolidated media competitor for audience and advertisers, while Steinman would be barred from similar market efficiencies.” The FCC should deny Sinclair/Tribune and Congress should hold hearings "to more thoroughly understand the media landscape and how critical independent local broadcast stations are in a democracy,” said Computer & Communications Industry Association President Ed Black in a news release on CCIA's replies filed in docket 17-179. "Sinclair has failed to show any tangible way" that the deal benefits the public interest, CCIA said. "Anyone who values decentralized government control, states rights and independent voices should oppose this merger that would harm citizens and weaken our democracy," Black said.

Ofcom gave additional advice to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport secretary of state on Fox's proposed buy of Sky, as that department required earlier this month (see 1708080041), the U.K. department said Friday. It said Ofcom would release its advice "in due course."

Consumer Watchdog filed petitions with state attorneys general asking them to investigate Amazon for allegedly engaging in deceptive pricing after the company received FTC approval to buy Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion (see 1708230064), said a Thursday news release. CW had asked the commission and DOJ to block the deal (see 1707070048). The group's Privacy Project Director John Simpson said the FTC has a "pattern of leaving high-profile enforcement action to others," citing the EU's antitrust case against Google. The group sent petitions to Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told a media outlet the FTC's decision was "disappointing" and antitrust policy should reflect more than just impact on price. Amazon and the FTC didn't immediately comment.