MUMBAI: Even as the dust on phone hacking controversy has hardly settled, another scandal is rocking Rupert Murdoch?s News Corporation that has put the company?s business operations in that country at risk.

According to a BBC documentary, a company part-owned by News Corporation carried out hacking by obtaining codes belonging to ITV Digital and posted them to allow viewers to watch for free which finally led to the demise of Sky?s main digital TV rivals ITV Digital.

Lee Gibling, who had set up a website The House of Ill-Compute or Thoic in 1990s, said News Corp-owned NDS had funded expansion of the Thoic site and later had him distribute the set-top pay-TV codes of rival ITV Digital.

ITV Digital?s former chief technical officer, Simon Dore, told the programme that piracy was the killer blow for the business. "The business had its issues aside from the piracy... but those issues I believe would have been solvable by careful and good management. The real killer, the hole beneath the water line, was the piracy. We couldn?t recover from that,? he stated.

NDS, which was recently acquired by Cisco for $5 billion, though denied the allegation by saying that Thoic was legitimately used to gather intelligence on hackers while Gibling worked as a consultant. NDS manufactures smartcards for all News Corp pay-TV companies across the world.

Incidentally, James Murdoch was the non-executive director of NDS when the scandal took place. However, BBC did not find any evidence of his involvement. The Junior Murdoch had recently stepped down from all posts of controversy-ridden News International, the UK publishing business of the company.

The company?s justification notwithstanding, Gibling has said that although Thoic was in his name the website actually belonged to NDS, which according to Gibling was also used to defeat the electronic countermeasures that the ITV used to try to stop the piracy.

Furthermore, the new codes created by ITV Digital were also sent out to other piracy websites so that consumers don?t buy even a single card.

"We wanted people to be able to update these cards themselves, we didn?t want them buying a single card and then finding they couldn?t get channels. We wanted them to stay and keep with On Digital, flogging it until it broke,? Gibling revealed further.

No sooner did the allegations surface calls for probe started growing louder with Tom Watson, a member of parliament and who has been examining the phone-hacking scandal, being the leading voice.

"Clearly allegations of TV hacking are far more serious than phone hacking," he said. "It seems inconceivable that they (Ofcom) would not want to look at these new allegations. Ofcom are now applying the fit and proper person test to Rupert and James Murdoch. It also seems inconceivable to me that if these allegations are true that Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch will pass that test."

Already, television regulator Ofcom is scrutinising whether James Murdoch and News Corporation are "fit and proper" persons to be in control of BSkyB, the company that runs Sky TV.

MUMBAI: Close on the heels of stepping down as the executive chairman of the News International, James Murdoch has further severed all remaining ties with the controversy-ridden British newspaper business.

James has resigned from three more boards: Times Newspaper Holdings, which was set up to guarantee the independence of the Times of London and the Sunday Times when News Corp acquired the titles in 1981; Newscorp Investments; and News International Publishers Limited.

Post his stepping down as the executive chairman of NI, the junior Murdoch has relocated to News Corp?s headquarters in New York as the deputy chief operating officer to focus on the broadcast business.

News International, the publisher of now defunct News of the World, is under investigation from authorities over phone and computer hacking and bribery.

James? future at BSkyB, the UK sports broadcasting arm of Newscorp, hinges on the Parliament committee?s report on the scandal for which he has been questioned twice, once with his father Rupert Murdoch.

The British media regulator Ofcom will take the parliamentary report into consideration when evaluating whether James is ?fit and proper? to hold a broadcast licence on behalf of BSkyB.

MUMBAI: UK media watchdog Ofcom has stepped up its investigation into whether James Murdoch is a "fit and proper" person to sit on the board of BSkyB.

The open ended Ofcom investigation is examining mounting evidence of wrongdoing at Rupert Murdoch?s British newspapers and whether it impinges on BSkyB as a "fit and proper" holder of a license.

It will increase the scrutiny on Murdoch?s position at the pay TV service provider. Reports add that this could eventually lead to News Corp selling down its 39.1 per cent stake in a company it wanted to buy outright last summer.

Ofcom has formed a project team to examine evidence of phone hacking and corrupt payments emerging from the police and the Leveson inquiry.

The media regulator set up a dedicated group of seven or eight staff under the name Project Apple.

MUMBAI: James Murdoch has stepped down as the executive chairman of News International, the publisher of the now defunct News of the World, to focus on the broadcast business of News Corporation, the parent company of News International.

The junior Murdoch will relocate to News Corp?s headquarters in New York as the deputy chief operating officer, News Corp said in a statement.

Tom Mockridge, CEO of News International, will continue in his post and will report to News Corporation president and COO Chase Carey.

"We are all grateful for James? leadership at News International and across Europe and Asia, where he has made lasting contributions to the group?s strategy in paid digital content and its efforts to improve and enhance governance programmes," said News Corporation chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch.

"He has demonstrated leadership and continues to create great value at Star TV, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia, and BSkyB. Now that he has moved to New York, James will continue to assume a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates, with particular focus on important pay-TV businesses and broader international operations."

James Murdoch, who was under fire from the UK authorities following the phone hacking scandal that had engulfed the News of the World, said he was looking to his relocation to News Corp.

"I deeply appreciate the dedication of my many talented colleagues at News International who work tirelessly to inform the public and am confident about the tremendous momentum we have achieved under the leadership of my father and Tom Mockridge," he said.

"With the successful launch of The Sun on Sunday and new business practices in place across all titles, News International is now in a strong position to build on its successes in the future. As Deputy Chief Operating Officer, I look forward to expanding my commitment to News Corporation?s international television businesses and other key initiatives across the Company."
NOTW ceased publication after 168 years following its final print edition on 10 July which resulted in the loss of around 200 jobs.

The News International publishes three news papers, The Times, The Sun and The Sunday Times besides the launch of Sunday edition of The Sun.

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate News Corp has announced that its Group Director, Strategy and Corporate Affairs, Europe and Asia Matthew Anderson will step down from his position in London effective 31 March 2012.

Anderson will fulfil plans to return to the San Francisco Bay Area with his family and pursue new opportunities. He will continue his relationship with News Corp. as a senior advisor to the company focusing on select international initiatives and relevant directorships.

News Corp. chairman, CEO Rupert Murdoch said, "For more than a decade,Matthew has made a valuable contribution to building News Corporation?s businesses in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He is a tenacious and effective executive whose counsel and skills have made a real difference".

Anderson began working with Star TV and News Corporation in 2000 when he was chief executive for the Asia Pacific region of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide based in Hong Kong.

In 2005, he joined British Sky Broadcasting, where he served as Group Director, Communications and Brand Marketing, playing a role in developing Sky?s ?Believe in better? brand positioning and ?The Bigger Picture? social and environmental initiatives. Sky became the world?s first carbon neutral
media company - a target that News Corporation achieved several years later. Matthew joined News Corporation in April 2008 with a broad remit across Europe and Asia. In addition to his executive responsibilities, Anderson represents News Corp on the Boards of Moby Group and Sky Pro Cycling.

News Corp Deputy COO and Chairman and CEO International James Murdoch said, "Matthew has played a key role in many of our most important projects for more than ten years. He has ranged across varied and wide terrain, and has been a versatile, resourceful and highly insightful colleague. The whole team will miss him greatly. Upon his long planned return to California with his family we wish him the very best and look forward to the next chapter."

MUMBAI: Amidst the controversy over the phone hacking scandal, James Murdoch has stepped down as a director of News Group Newspapers, which publishes The Sun and used to produce News of The World before the scandal forced it to close.

He also resigned from the boards of The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times

The move reports state could pave the way for the newspapers to be sold off as News Corp tries to control the damage that has been done. He is still News International chairman though.

Meanwhile Britain?s shadow culture secretary Harriet Harman has called for Murdoch to explain why he has stepped down from the boards of News Group Newspapers and Times Newspapers.

"James Murdoch should make clear why he has stepped down in this way. This does not lessen in any way the need for him to answer questions or take responsibility for what happened on his watch. Furthermore, the concerns about whether he is a fit and proper person to run BSkyB remain," she said in a statement.