Sky given bloody nose over Murdoch’s Fox job

SKY and its chairman James Murdoch have been given a bloody nose by independent shareholders in what could be its last AGM before 21st Century Fox takes it over.

Nearly 50pc of votes cast by shareholders not controlled by family empire 21st Century Fox opposed Murdoch’s re-election as chairman, and 63pc opposed the pay report. Some shareholders said they did not believe Murdoch could effectively represent independent investors because he is also chief executive of 21st Century Fox.

Major shareholder advisory groups Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass Lewis and Pirc had also called for a revolt. 21st Century Fox owns 39pc of Sky and has agreed to buy the rest of the company in a deal being reviewed by competition regulators.

With 21st Century Fox’s votes counted, 78pc backed the 44-year-old’s re-election, and 71pc backed the remuneration report.

Sky said like-for-like revenues rose 5pc during the latest quarter to £3.3bn, and profits were up 11pc to £582m.