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James Murdoch survives BSkyB vote despite dissent

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Despite the taint of the persistent British phone-hacking scandal, James Murdoch on Tuesday was reelected as chairman of the powerful British Sky Broadcasting television service.

The youngest son of Rupert Murdoch received the support of 81.2% of votes cast in Tuesday’s election. Nearly 19% of shareholders voted against him. James Murdoch, 38, also is deputy chief operating officer of News Corp., which owns 39% of the BSkyB shares, and has been considered the likely heir to his father’s media empire.

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Stripping out the votes held by News Corp., James Murdoch received far less support. Slightly more than 55% of the independent shareholders voted for his retention on the board. Nearly 32% opposed his continued tenure, and the remaining 12.9% withheld their votes.

In October, James Murdoch survived a vote of no confidence during the annual meeting of News Corp. investors. At that time, he retained his position as a director in the New York-based media giant. However, he faces continued hearings in the British Parliament concerning his oversight of News Corp.’s U.K.-based newspaper division, and his handling of the phone-hacking scandal that led to the shuttering of News of the World tabloid.

In July, fallout from the scandal forced News Corp. to withdraw its $12-billion bid to buy out the remaining shares of BSkyB. James Murdoch on Tuesday reaffirmed News Corp.’s continued role as a long-term shareholder in the television service.

In his statement to shareholders, he also said that BSkyB passed its long-term target of 10 million TV customers last year. “This is a significant achievement,” he said. “But more important than any single target is the way that our business has been transformed through constant appetite for change and a strong culture of continuous improvement.”

The vote results were reported by RNS, a news service of the London Stock Exchange.

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-- Meg James

in London. Credit: Gareth Fuller / Associated Press

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