BSkyB keeps broadcast licence despite hacking scandal

Britain's communications regulator Ofcom on Thursday allowed BSkyB to keep its broadcasting licences, after a probe into allegations of hacking by the satellite broadcaster which is part-owned by Rupert Murdoch. "Ofcom considers that, on the evidence currently available and having taken into account all the relevant factors, Sky is fit and proper to hold its broadcast licences," the regulator said in a statement. BSkyB, which is 39-percent owned by Murdoch's US-based News Corporation, welcomed the decision. "Ofcom is right to conclude that Sky is a fit and proper broadcaster," the company said in a statement. "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." The broadcaster came under investigation by Ofcom in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal that forced Australian-born Murdoch to close his News of the World tabloid in July 2011. The 168-year-old newspaper closed following a wave of public disgust over revelations that its staff hacked into the voicemail messages of a murdered schoolgirl, as well as dozens of public figures.