Sky News broadcast is shown on television screens in an electrical store in Edinburgh
Nielsen says by next year, for the first time in 20 years, less people are going to own TVs than they did in the previous year. REUTERS

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has offered to sell Sky News and also subsidize the channel for years to win approval of its planned takeover of all of British pay TV company BSkyB , the BBC reported on Wednesday.

As a result, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was likely to approve the deal, possibly as soon as tomorrow, the BBC's Robert Peston said on the broadcaster's website.

On January 25, the British government gave News Corp a final chance to avoid a prolonged investigation into its $12.5 billion buyout of BSkyB, sparking questions about the government's relationship with Murdoch.

(Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Keith Weir)

M&a deals Rupert murdoch