Given that Lachlan Murdoch is now exerting clear influence over Ten Network Holdings as acting CEO and a substantial shareholder, why aren’t the regulators examining the question of his ongoing directorship of News Corporation?

News Corp is about to have four Murdochs on its board for the first time, when Elisabeth Murdoch makes her debut as part of the Shine related party acquisition. Besides the question of the family being over-represented — given they own about 15% of News Corp stock when non-voting shares are included — there is also the important question of market dominance.

Media analyst Roger Colman eloquently spelt out the arguments about the Murdoch family’s dominance of Australian media in a number of forums last November, including some grabs in Greg Hoy’s comprehensive piece on the 7.30 Report.

Being an heir to the Murdoch family fortune and a News Corp director, it is impossible to see how both ACMA and the ACCC can ignore the family’s overall reach and dominance in the Australian market.

But that is precisely what ACMA is proposing. A spokeswoman told Crikey today that the regulator does not believe Murdoch is personally in a position to control News Corp, even though the Murdoch family is clearly in control and Lachlan is known to be a $1 billion-plus beneficiary of his father’s estate.

The foreign and cross-media ownership laws were substantially relaxed after the Coalition won control of the Senate in June 2005, but there remained a strict rule that no player could simultaneously control metropolitan radio, television and newspapers assets.

Lachlan Murdoch personally owns 50% of DMG, owner of the Nova radio network which operates in all metropolitan markets and reaches 53% of the Australian population. So how can he also be acting CEO of Ten and a director of News Corp, the largest newspaper publisher in Australia with 70% of the market?

When Murdoch first announced his Ten investment and aspiration to join the board, News Corp made this comment about the competition issues:

“News does not believe competition issues arise from investment in free to air television and pay television. In any event, as one of 17 directors in News Corporation, Lachlan Murdoch does not influence the management of its subsidiary in Australia.”

Lachlan will be one of 18 News Corp directors once Elisabeth joins the board, but only three of them are based in Australia. And as the former executive chairman of News Ltd in Australia who hand-picked the current boss John Hartigan in 2001, it is hard to see how this argument is sustained.

This distinction between being a director and exerting influence through management was not accepted by ACMA when Lachlan made his Ten push last year — he was forced to quit the board of Prime Television just one month after being promoted to deputy chairman.

Prime’s statement when Lachlan exited on November 9 included the following comment from chairman Paul Ramsay: “We are disappointed that Lachlan Murdoch is required by regulation to resign from our Board as a result of joining Network Ten Holdings Board. Mr Murdoch is confident in the future of free-to-air television, as are we.”

ACMA has been slow to act in the past on these market dominance questions. For instance, David Evans was allowed to be a director of Fairfax Media and Village Roadshow for more than two years after the 2007 Southern Cross Broadcasting takeover. It was only after the contentious and contested 2009 Fairfax Media board elections that ACMA stepped in and agreed Evans was influencing four radio stations in some markets when the regulatory limit is two.

ACMA announced last May that Fairfax had agreed to amend its influence notification processes. So what will DMG, Ten and News Corp be telling ACMA about Lachlan Murdoch’s influence right now?

The other question for Lachlan goes to conflict of interest. Any decision to reduce the focus on sport by Ten’s digital channel One would clearly benefit Fox Sports owner Premier Media Group, which is 50% owned by News Corp. No doubt the AFL and the NRL — still currently 50% owned by News Ltd — will be watching all this very closely as they attempt to negotiate a $1 billion-plus TV rights deals.

The Australian’s James Chessell had a fascinating snippet today revealing that James Packer, Ryan Stokes and Channel Nine boss David Gyngell were privately consorting at Packer’s mansion last night. Wouldn’t the competition regulators and major sporting codes have loved to listen to that conversation, given the frenetic pace of media deal-making at the moment…