Murdoch mulls another tilt at BSkyB A cashed-up Vodafone is also thought to be interested in the pay TV group. By the time Rupert Murdoch bid for outright control of BSkyB, the British pay TV company, he had already gone as far as calling in the architects. Land next to the company's headquarters in Osterley, west London, was earmarked as the new home of all his British interests. The newspapers, book publishers and film businesses were all to move to new premises fit for 5000 people. "They kept it quiet how far the plans had got, but we were all ready to go," recalls one former BSkyB manager. BSkyB had the single-minded goal of reaching 10 million customers, and we'd basically done that and they didn't really know what to do next, so this was the big plan. It was 2010 and the phone-hacking scandal was months away but the grand plans already faced opposition from the communications regulator, Ofcom. It was concerned about the impact on the plurality of Britain's news media of a Murdoch takeover. When details of the News of the World's interception of murdered girl Milly Dowler's voicemails emerged in the northern summer of 2011, they were scrapped. The land is still owned by BSkyB, with new studios being built to house the company's growing in-house production ambitions. Meanwhile, the British companies Murdoch does own outright - HarperCollins, News UK and Dow Jones UK - have just signed a 30-year lease on shared offices at the Shard in London Bridge. Yet, while a physical union is now impossible, some observers believe Murdoch is going to try again to claim full control of BSkyB. If anything, the move makes more strategic sense now than it did in 2010. Power in the media market has shifted away from distributors, such as BSkyB, who are engaged in increasingly intense competition, and towards content rights holders, such as the English Premier League and the Hollywood studios. Most analysts expect technology giants Apple and Google to become more direct rivals to pay TV operators within the next few years. With internet gadgets and services to sell, and vast cash reserves, it is predicted they will seek to acquire exclusive rights to sport and films that cable and satellite businesses depend on. It is also expected they could push content owners to sell their rights on a continental or even global basis, as opposed to the country-by-county market. US cable billionaire John Malone has been splashing out billions on European networks, including Britain's Virgin Media, in preparation for this new environment. Murdoch owns 39.1 per cent of BSkyB, but a controlling stake would allow him to merge it with Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia, where he is already majority shareholder. There would be ample cost savings from consolidating broadcasting infrastructure and back offices. If Murdoch did make another move on the company, it would be under the auspices of 21st Century Fox, the new public company created when he split his profitable television and film businesses from the less profitable publishing interests. There would still be political hurdles, however. There are serious doubts as to whether the regulator would take a different view just because News UK is now held by a different public company. If 21st Century Fox buys BSkyB, Murdoch would still control both the newspapers and Sky News. The company, 21st Century Fox, made no comment on claims it could bid. It would be unlikely to make a move before the next Premier League rights auction at the end of the year and is expected to cost both the victor and the loser dear. The rocketing price of football rights, most recently seen in BT's £897 million ($1.7 billion) bill for exclusive European club competition rights, is, in part, responsible for the perception that BSkyB is "in play." Despite strong growth and product innovation, it is claimed the company is under threat because of BT's superior cash generation, infrastructure assets and forthcoming mobile network. As well as 21st Century Fox, analysts have suggested Vodafone could buy BSkyB, even as the mobile operator is itself subject to speculation of a takeover by AT&T. Flush with cash from the $159 billion sale of its stake in Verizon Wireless, the mobile operator could easily afford to pay a premium on BSkyB's $25.4 billion market capitalisation. The content and broadband assets Vodafone would acquire would fit with chief executive Vittorio Colao's strategy of providing consumers with a bundle of communications and media services. A deal that would keep the two companies apart but help both in their respective battles with BT has also been suggested, although talks have not gone beyond the exploratory stage. BSkyB has considered launching a mobile operation based on Vodafone's network several times over the years but always demurred. BSkyB's chief executive Jeremy Darroch is certain to emphasise his company's existing strengths when he faces questions at half-year results on Thursday. The consensus is for revenues to grow a healthy 6 per cent on the back of increasing take-up of Sky apps and on-demand services. Profits will fall on investments in technology and sports rights, but his message will be that there is still plenty of strength in BSkyB to grow on its own.