Yahoo Finance James Murdoch To Return As Sky Chairman
James Murdoch is to make a surprise return to the helm of Sky (LSE: BSY.L - news) after the board of Britain's biggest pay-television broadcaster reappointed him to the role nearly four years after he stepped down.
Announcing the move to the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) on Friday alongside Sky plc's half-year results, the company said Mr Murdoch's appointment had been unanimously approved by its board.
The news came as Sky reported record half-year profits, crediting strong customer demand for TV and broadband services.
It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) said operating profit in the six months to the end of December rose by 12% to £747m.
The company, which has operations in five European markets including the UK, Germany, Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) and Italy, also saw a 5% increase in revenue to £5.7bn.
The addition of 337,000 new customers during the second quarter of the financial year represented Sky's biggest growth in its home market in a decade, and came despite intense competition for broadband and pay-TV business.
The results suggest that Sky has largely shrugged off the loss of live Champions League football to rival BT Group (LSE: BT-A.L - news) , with which it jointly holds the rights to show live Premier League matches.
James Murdoch's appointment marks a stunning return to the heart of the UK's corporate establishment. In 2012 he said that he was stepping down from the-then BSkyB at the height of the phone hacking scandal.
He said then: "As attention continues to be paid to past events at News International, I am determined that the interests of BSkyB should not be undermined by matters outside the scope of this Company."
While he has remained on Sky's board throughout the last four years, he has concentrated his presence in the US, where he became 21st Century Fox's chief executive last year.
The New York-listed media group - which holds a 39.6% stake in Sky, the owner of Sky News - was created as a standalone entity after the division of News Corporation (NasdaqGS: NWS - news) into two separately listed companies.
In addition to 21st Century Fox, News Corporation holds a portfolio of newspaper assets including The Times and The Sun in the UK, as well as a range of digital and publishing businesses.
External shareholders are not thought to have been consulted on Mr Murdoch's return as Sky's chairman.
He will replace Nicholas Ferguson, who has been a director of Sky for more than a decade.
The company also said that Martin Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management (Other OTC: ABDNF - news) , would become deputy chairman, and Andrew Sukawaty would reassume the role of senior independent director.
Jeremy Darroch, Sky's chief executive, said: "We’re delighted that James Murdoch has agreed to step into the role of chairman.
"James’ deep knowledge of the international media industry and his passion for supporting Sky’s ongoing success will make an even greater contribution to our business in the future."
