AUSTRALIA'S FAIRFAX LTD WANTS FOXTEL-OPTUS PAY TV DEAL REJECTED.

SYDNEY, Nov 1 Asia Pulse - John Fairfax Holdings Ltd (ASX:FXJ) called for regulators to reject the controversial Foxtel-Optus pay TV deal "outright", sparking a bitter war of words.

Fairfax has labelled key undertakings given by Foxtel and Optus as "irretrievably flawed and wholly inadequate", and indicated it would walk away from any ambitions it held as a pay TV content supplier if the deal was approved.

Foxtel countered today, claiming the newspaper group had "misrepresented or misunderstood" the undertakings given, and accused Fairfax of trying to "stop Australia's advance into the digital age".

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it was at a crucial stage of negotiations, with a decision on the deal expected by mid-November.

Foxtel - owned by Telstra Corp (ASX:TLS), News Corp (ASX:NCP) and Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd (ASX:PBL) - last month gave the ACCC 12 key undertakings in a bid to allay competition concerns and win approval for the deal.

The ACCC blocked the initial Foxtel-Optus proposal in June, citing potential breaches of the Trade Practices Act, in areas including the acquisition of content and the likely domination of the Foxtel distribution network.

Fairfax chief executive Fred Hilmer today called on the ACCC to reject the proposal, saying it would create a "powerful and pervasive monopoly" and competing services would be commercially unviable. ...