James Murdoch quits as chairman of BSKYB
LONDON • James Murdoch, under fire over his handling of a phone-hacking scandal that has convulsed his father Rupert’s media empire, stepped down as chairman of pay-tv group BSKYB, its news channel reported Tuesday.
The report said Mr. Murdoch quit after a board meeting. Neither BSKYB nor controlling shareholder News Corp., where he is deputy chief operating officer, would comment.
Mr. Murdoch has been heavily criticized for his handling of the scandal, which rocked the British press, politicians and police last year, and he had faced repeated calls to step down from his role at Britain’s dominant pay-tv group.
The 39-year-old son of Rupert Murdoch, once seen as heir to his father’s company, has continued to plead his innocence ahead of a parliamentary report investigating
the phone-hacking scandal, which is expected to be heavily critical of him.
The chairman of the committee, John Whittingdale, said Mr. Murdoch had not seen the report.
“We have not given wind to anybody of what might be in the report,” he said, adding that the removal of Mr. Murdoch as chairman of BSKYB would allow the successful pay-tv group to distance itself from the wider problems at News Corp., its 39% owner.
Mr. Murdoch, who was previously chief executive of BSKYB, was dealt a heavy blow in November when more than 40% of the company’s independent shareholders failed to back his re-election as chairman.
Since then he has relinquished his board positions at News Corp.’s British newspaper arm, and moved to the United
States to take up his new role running international pay TV.
“It was inevitable,” said media commentator Roy Greenslade, who has previously worked for Rupert Murdoch. “His position was increasingly untenable.”
A major U.k.-based shareholder said, “I have no particular axe to grind about James Murdoch, but if this rumour is correct then at least it would remove some uncertainty from the stock. Investors could get back to focusing on the company’s business rather than its corporate-governance issues.”
News Corp.’s British newspaper arm, News International, has admitted its News of the World tabloid hacked into the phones of crime victims, war dead and celebrities to generate stories.
It has since closed the 168year-old paper.