The removal of the story was described as “a pause for thought”.
A BSkyB spokesman said: “The piece was withdrawn for further review. We stand
by the story and, following that review, took the decision to republish on
Monday.”
The agreement came to light in confidential documents that appeared to show Mr
Ecclestone and the firm that owns F1 commercial rights, CVC, had struck
separate deals with Ferrari and Red Bull.
The deal was part of their obligation to divide Formula 1’s revenues with all
12 teams through 2020 and was said to have involved asking Goldman Sachs for
help placing some of its F1 shares.
Seven of the 12 racing teams met on Sunday to discuss the article.
The majority of the teams want negotiations to take place through a so-called
Concorde Agreement with the industry’s trade body, the Formula One Teams
Association (Fota).
But Mr Ecclestone told the FT he did not recognise Fota: “Fota can’t sign
anything with anyone.”
He reportedly declined to comment on the leaked documents.
A source said CVC needed a new Concorde Agreement to value F1 before any of
its commercial rights were sold. Options include listing the sport in
Singapore, which would establish a price for prospective buyers to meet.
Others described the agreement as a way of dealing with “the Ecclestone
problem”, which is how F1 carries on without the man who has run it for 50
years.
The decision to remove the article raised further questions over Sky News’s
independence. It follows Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp’s bid to buy out the
rest of BSkyB, on top of its existing 39.1 per cent share.
News Corp offered to split Sky News off as a separate company after Ofcom
investigated. Last year, News Corp had to abandon its takeover of BSkyB
after the phone hacking scandal emerged, months after spinning Sky News off
as a separate company to avoid media plurality concerns. The move meant
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp lost control of the news channel.
Ferrari, Goldman Sachs and CVC also declined to comment.