The one-week deadline that UK Secretary for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, had set for final comments on News Corporation’s proposed buyout of other shareholders of BSkyB was set to expire Friday (7/8). But the growing scandal over reporters for a News Corp. tabloid newspaper hacking into the cell phones of UK officials and celebrities produced a deluge of comments – mostly opposing the buyout plan.
With his staff now trying to sift through more than 100,000 new comments, it appears unlike that Hunt will issue a final decision anytime soon. He had previously indicated that he was likely to allow News Corp. to buy the 60.9% of the satellite pay TV company that it doesn’t already own. That was after months of deliberations, which included News Corp. agreeing to put the 24/7 news channel Sky News into an independent entity.
Meanwhile, the phone hacking scandal became such an embarrassment that News Corp. announced Thursday (7/8) that it will shut down News of the World, with this Sunday’s issue to be the last for the tabloid.
