Murdochs count the cost of hacking scandal

19/07/11 19:29 CET

economy

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As the Murdochs faced questioning before the parliamentary committee, their business empire was counting the cost of the hacking scandal.

Rupert Murdoch’s position as chairman of the media group has been questioned by some investors, but the value of the shares of both News Corporation in New York and satellite TV channel BSkyB in London rebounded from their plunge of previous days.

Since the scandal hit on the fifth of July, News Corp’s share prices was down 16 percent on Tuesday, wiping more than 5.5 billion euros off the value of the company. BSkyB’s shares were down 14 percent on Tuesday over the same period.

Critics of Murdoch would like to see the scandal spread to the US and threaten his ownership of the Fox News channel.

The political firestorm surrounding the Murdochs has already derailed News Corporation’s bid to buy the 61 percent of BSkyB that it does not already own and indeed it is being challenged on whether it should be allowed to keep its existing stake in the hugely profitable satellite channel.

More about: Media, Phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch

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