News Corp.'s year-long quest to assume full control of U.K. satellite giant British Sky Broadcasting hit another snag Monday, after the proposal was referred to Britain's Competition Commission, which could add months to the process.
The move comes in the wake of mounting pressure from regulators and shareholders stemming from the phone hacking scandal at News Corp.'s News of the World newspaper, were reporters at the paper illegally tapped into voice mail and phone records of celebrities, government officials and members of Britain's royal family over a period of several years. The 168-year-old tabloid published its final issue on Sunday, in what many observers have called an effort to appease government leaders in order to get the BSkyB deal approved. But as new revelations continue to emerge from the scandal - the latest is that the tabloid offered to pay a New York City police officer to retrieve phone records of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York - chances that the deal passes muster are growing increasingly dim.
