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U.K. Says Blocking Fox's Sky Bid 'Not Preferred Approach'
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By Jason Douglas and Stu Woo

LONDON--The U.K. government said Tuesday that it preferred not to block a long-delayed deal by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox Inc. (FOX) to consolidate ownership of British pay-TV giant Sky PLC (SKY.LN), but would only do so after hashing out the details of a planned divestment of Sky's news operations.

The decision by Britain's culture secretary pushes back any final sign-off on Mr. Murdoch's bid for all of Sky, and complicates a much bigger corporate standoff playing out in the U.S.

Cable giant Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) is also bidding for Sky, and U.K. Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said Tuesday the government found no objection for that deal going through.

That technically gives Comcast a slight advantage in their competing bids for Sky, but Mr. Hancock said blocking a Fox-Sky deal was "not my preferred approach." He said he was "optimistic" that the government could reach an agreement with Fox, and laid out a timeline of 15 days to reach a deal.