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James Murdoch's resignation as chairman of satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting comes ahead of a government report expected to be critical of his handling of the ethics scandal at News Corp.'s British tabloids. Murdoch, in announcing his decision Tuesday, alluded to the ongoing investigations into alleged phone hacking and police bribery by News Corp.'s the Sun and the now-closed News of the World. Problems at the tabloids last summer derailed the media conglomerate's plans to take control of Britain's dominant pay-TV provider, in which it holds a 39% interest, with a $12-billion purchase of all outstanding BSkyB shares.

News Corp. has received the backing of a key British official, moving one step closer to taking control of British Sky Broadcasting. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Thursday that he was inclined to accept News Corp.'s proposal to spin off Sky News into a separate company to address concerns about the editorial independence of the 24-hour news operation. A final favorable decision, pending a 15-day public comment period, would avoid a lengthy and costly regulatory review by Britain's Competition Commission, analysts said.

LONDON - Britain should set up an independent regulator to monitor its freewheeling news media and prevent abuses such as the phone-hacking scandal that exposed unethical and sometimes illegal news-gathering practices, a senior judge said Thursday after a yearlong investigation. The new regulating body should be established by law and exclude politicians and editors to guarantee its independence from government and industry pressure, Lord Justice Brian Leveson said in a much-anticipated report that blasted the aggressive tactics often associated with British tabloids and paparazzi.

LONDON - He'd already admitted that relations were too tight between politicians and Rupert Murdoch's media empire. But on Thursday, British Prime Minister David Cameron sat under oath, on the witness stand, answering questions and listening poker-faced as embarrassing evidence of his own coziness was read out loud in court. The grilling, in which a judge and the investigating lawyer often addressed him as "Mr. Cameron" and not "Prime Minister," was the latest chapter in a judicial inquiry on media ethics that he himself had initiated in light ofBritain'sshocking phone-hacking scandal.

LONDON — Over 60 years, Rupert Murdoch built a media empire using his properties and their profits not just to break down the doors to the British establishment, but also to control it. So Tuesday's scathing declaration by a British parliamentary committee that Murdoch is "not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company" may mark the moment when the once-tamed establishment lost its fear of the country's most powerful...

British Sky Broadcasting Group, the British pay-TV operator controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., reported a 49% drop in quarterly profit and warned that future earnings would be hurt by an $819-million investment program designed to increase long-term growth. The news sent the company's shares tumbling. BSkyB's U.S.-traded shares dropped $7.75, or 17%, to $36.85 on the NYSE. The investment is part of a new long-term growth plan.

Walt Disney Co. reached an agreement to increase the amount of programming it supplies to Britain's BSkyB pay-TV service, adding a new channel featuring animated films and another with historic sporting events. Financial terms and the duration of the contract were not disclosed. A British newspaper put the value of the deal at 130 million pounds ($226 million) a year. The transaction gives BSkyB, which is facing tough competition, additional fare with which to lure new customers.

Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB satellite broadcaster said it will force Germany's collapsing Kirch media conglomerate to repay $1.5 billion, money the Munich-based company probably doesn't have. BSkyB said in a statement it was exercising an option granted when it bought a 22% stake in KirchPayTV, the failed pay television wing of Kirch Group, Germany's largest private broadcaster.

British Sky Broadcasting Group's fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened as Europe's second-biggest pay-television company spent more on films, sports and services to draw viewers. The London-based company's loss for the quarter ended June 30 was $244 million from a loss of $180.9 million a year earlier, the company said. BSkyB added about 150,000 subscribers in the period.

Vivendi Universal said Monday it was giving up its seat on BSkyB's board as it holds talks with Liberty Media and others over the sale of its stake in the British satellite TV company. Vivendi Universal Chairman Jean Marie Messier said the French group would place its 22.7% stake in BSkyB with a trustee, but insisted that such a move did not imply a deal was imminent, with talks still in early stages.