Ofcom Deems BSkyB "Fit and Proper"
LONDON -- British Sky Broadcasting (ISE: BSY.L) advanced 3.5 pence to 731 pence in early London trading this morning after Ofcom published its "fit and proper" assessment of the media group.
The communications regulator declared that, "on the evidence currently available," Sky was fit and proper to hold its broadcasting licenses.
In July, following the public debate about phone hacking and other allegations at the News of the World newspaper, Ofcom confirmed it had a duty to consider whether Sky was fit and proper to hold broadcast licenses in the U.K.
About 40% of Sky is owned by News Corp. (NAS: NWS) , which used to publish the News of the World. James Murdoch remains a director of both Sky and News Corporation.
Within a 10-page verdict, Ofcom said to date that there was "no evidence that Sky was directly or indirectly involved in any of the wrongdoing either admitted or alleged to have taken place at News of the World."
However, Ofcom did reveal "Sky has admitted to some instances of email hacking in two cases unrelated to the cases alleged to have taken place at [theNews of the World]." Ofcom said it was currently considering those issues under the Broadcasting Code.
A spokesman for Sky said:
Ofcom is right to conclude that Sky is a fit and proper broadcaster. As a company, we are committed to high standards of governance and we take our regulatory obligations extremely seriously. As Ofcom acknowledges, our track record of compliance in broadcasting is good.
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