After nearly two years of fierce competition with BBC, the knives were out in the battle for the satellite television network. Both sides, through different spokespersons or news leaks, expressed their insistence on seizing the network. The Murdoch Group had prepared a staggering sum of 188 million British Pounds for the launch of Sky Television, with forty million of that earmarked to lobby both houses of Parliament to reject the proposed legislation. Meanwhile, BBC's four major shareholders declared that they had rallied 420 million Pounds, simply waiting for the bill to pass before they turned their guns on Sky.