From paidContent:UK: The UK’s Competition Commission today dealt a blow to the all-mighty BSkyB (NYSE: BSY), the pay-TV provider 39.1 percent owned by News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), by ruling that its 17.9 percent stake in broadcaster ITV (LSE: ITV) “restricts competition and therefore operates against the public interest.”

The CC said that while it didn’t feel that BSkyB played a strong role in daily management at ITV, as ITV’s largest shareholder “by some margin,” BSkyB could influence key strategic decisions at the company, particularly related to investments in content, capacity and new technology.

This will be seen as a victory for Virgin Media (NSDQ: VMED), which has been embroiled in a major, multi-leveled dispute with BSkyB over carrying Sky channels over its cable network, among other competition issues.  More here.