James Murdoch in leadership comeback at Sky
James Murdoch has landed his dream job after being appointed as chairman of Sky, four years after resigning as chairman of BSkyB following a failed takeover of the business by News Corp – owned by his father, Rupert Murdoch.
The takeover was aborted and Murdoch’s reputation severely tarnished when fellow News Corp brand News International became embroiled in the phone hacking scandal of 2011 amidst claims that newspapers had illegally hacked the phones of celebrities.
However, he was reappointed as a director of Sky in 2013.
Murdoch’s appointment will rekindle expectations that Fox, which now owns the 39 per cent of Sky previously held by News Corp, will once again seek to snap up the remaining stake, a long cherished dream held by the Murdoch clan.
Sky was formed in in 2014 following a £7bn merger between Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland.