BSkyB is also engaged in legal action with Virgin Media Inc , its nearest pay TV rival, over basic channels. News Corp owns a 39 percent stake in BSkyB.
SAME CLOTH
The news of the changes, which were first reported on the Guardian's Web site, comes a week before News Corp closes its $5.6 billion deal to buy The Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co Inc.
Tall and smoothly charming, James Murdoch had played a key role during strained negotiations with Dow Jones's controlling Bancroft family, fanning speculation then that he would be his father's successor.
Rupert's daughter Elisabeth, 39, was also once considered a leading candidate because of her reputation as a shrewd media deal maker and role as a former managing director of Sky Networks. She left the company in 2000 and set up her own TV production company, Shine.
James's penchant for speaking his mind has gotten him in hot water on occasion, like his father.
A year ago, James launched a blistering attack on the British broadcasting industry and the publicly funded BBC in particular, accusing it of megalomania. In a speech in London, he appealed for less regulation and a free market.
"The triumph of the free market surely indicates that broadcasting should be more like other industries," he said on Nov. 30, 2006.
But broadcasting in Britain was still not sufficiently free-market, he said. "Indeed, the UK's main state broadcasting agency, the BBC, famously fantasizes about creating a 'British Google' -- and wants the taxpayer to fund it.
"This is not public service; it's megalomania," he said.
