Dyke's
 acceptance of the top BBC job should have been accompanied by a personal wealth warning, as his pledge to dispose of his stock is set to have cost him millions. Share prices across the UK media sector are booming in the wake of the Time Warner-AOL deal, and analysts are expecting Granada's shares to rise by as much as 20 percent following its bid for  Carlton and United News & Media. 
     



Blair crony in row over media holdings as he rises to head BBC 

Rupert's Times raises stink over foe's wealth

By Simon Bond
   
   Greg Dyke has been forced into a fire sale of his media industry shareholdings to avoid a conflict of interest between his past in the private sector and his new role as director general of the BBC, where he is due to start in April this year.
   Dyke's decision to sell his extensive portfolio of media stock emerged earlier this week as he came under criticism for still holding a substantial number of shares in Granada-- the UK's largest commercial broadcaster and leading rival to the BBC. 
    Last week Dyke was forced to sell his shares in Manchester United, the premier league soccer club, because of the team's pivotal role in upcoming TV rights negotiations, which are set to involve the BBC, Granada and the UK pay TV sector's leading company, BSkyB.
      Dyke's appointment to the BBC caused an outcry when it was announced last year. As a close friend of the UK's prime minister, Tony Blair, the choice of Dyke attracted widespread accusations of "cronyism" from political rivals.
     At the time, Dyke agreed with the BBC's Board of Governors that by the time he took up his BBC post he would sell out of any companies that could raise a conflict of interest. He has already sold his shares in companies including the newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror, the commercial broadcasters Carlton Communications and United News & Media, and Pearson, the media group where he was head of television prior to his move to the BBC.
    Murdoch's Sunday Times newspaper lead the attack on Dyke this weekend, suggesting his $10 million personal stake in Granada fell into the category of a "conflict of interest," and the tabloids have followed suite with a series of disclosures about Dyke's personal wealth.
     Dyke's meteoric rise in the UK media industry has earned him a personal fortune of at least $22 million.
     Between 1992 and 1998 he has held directorships in 20 companies, including Granada and BSkyB. In all, he received around $14 million in shares after Granada's takeover of London Weekend Television, the company  where he had been chief executive. 
   However, his acceptance for the top job at the BBC should have been accompanied by a personal wealth warning as Dyke's pledge to dispose of his shareholdings is set to have lost him millions. Share prices across the UK media sector are booming in the wake of the Time Warner-AOL deal, and, independently of this, analysts are expecting Granada's shares to rise by as much as 20 percent following the company's announcement of its intention to bid for rival networks, Carlton and United News & Media. 
    Dyke  sold his shares in Pearson in August last year, netting him around $1.3 million. However, the forced sale lost him a small fortune as the shares have since risen by over 60 percent.
    With a paltry salary of $650,000 Dyke must be hoping that the director generalship of the BBC is going to be worth it.   

-Simon Bond covers European media for Media Life, writing from outside of London.