As British cellphone hacking scandal widens, Murdoch's bid for BSkyB hits new snag

Reports say that Prince Charles and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown were among those whose cellphones were targeted by newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch. Meanwhile, Murdoch's bid to take over satellite broadcaster BSkyB faces months of delay after the government refers the matter to antitrust regulators.

By Henry Chu,
Los Angeles Times
July 12, 2011

Reporting from London

Embattled media magnate Rupert Murdoch's bid for control of Britain's biggest satellite broadcaster ran into further trouble Monday, even as new reports surfaced that a former prime minister and senior members of the royal family were possible targets of a phone-hacking campaign by journalists.

Murdoch's long-running attempt to add satellite TV company BSkyB to his News Corp. media conglomerate faces several months of delay after the British government decided to refer the $12-billion bid to regulators charged with determining whether allowing ownership by Murdoch would violate anti-monopoly rules.

The move was triggered by News Corp.'s withdrawal of its pledge to spin off the Sky News channel from BSkyB as a condition for acquiring the satellite broadcaster. News Corp. said Monday that it was scrapping its promise because it was confident that media competition would not be compromised if it held on to Sky News as part of a takeover.

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