BSkyB head Jeremy Darroch welcomes Sky News spinoff plan

Jeremy Darroch, the chief executive of BSkyB, believes News Corporation's planned spinoff of Sky News represents a "good outcome" for the channel and would provide "long-term certainty" following the proposed £8bn takeover of the broadcaster. Darroch made the comments in an email fired off to Sky News staff on Thursday following the announcement that culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has approved a News Corp proposal to spin off the loss-making business from BSkyB into a new publicly listed company . The company will be independently funded for 10 years with News Corp to hold a stake of 39.1% with the remainder held by investors in BSkyB. "I want to take this opportunity to say that, if the acquisition was to take place, I believe that these proposals would represent a good outcome for Sky News," Darroch said. "In effect, they would maintain the status quo in respect of ownership, with News Corp owning a minority stake directly in Sky News in the same way as it does in BSkyB today." He added that the proposed agreement means that Sky News would "benefit from long-term continuity and certainty, allowing you all to continue to focus on what you do best: delivering the best possible news service on all platforms". "This structure is designed to put Sky News on a secure financial footing and guarantee its continued editorial independence," he stressed. "It is very important to remember that these are still proposals at this stage and nothing is confirmed." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".