Rupert Murdoch and his New Corp have withdrawn their controversial takeover bid for broadcaster BSkyB.
Chase Carey, Deputy Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer, News Corporation, said: "We believed that the proposed acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation would benefit both companies but it has become clear that it is too difficult to progress in this climate. News Corporation remains a committed long-term shareholder in BSkyB. We are proud of the success it has achieved and our contribution to it."
News Corp owns 39% of BSkyB and was seeking controlling stake in the British boradcaster.
This move comes even as British lawmakers looked set to deal a body blow to Murdoch's bid for pay-TV giant BSkyB, as the phone-hacking scandal rocking his media empire threatened to spill over to the United States.
Earlier today, British Premier David Cameron today advised Mr Murdoch to first sort out the "mess" in his company before hoping to take over broadcaster BSkyB and announced a judge-led probe into the phone hacking scandal involving his newspapers.
Making a statement in the House of Commons, Cameron termed the phone-hacking scandal as a "massive firestorm". He announced the setting up of a judge-led inquiry to go into the scandal and make recommendations about the relationships among the press, politicians and police.
Cameron said the inquiry, led by Lord Justice Brian Leveson, would have the authority to summon "newspaper reporters, management, proprietors, policemen and politicians of all parties to give evidence under oath and in public." The inquiry would report in one year, he said.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal said News Corporation has explored whether there are any potential buyers for News International, which includes British newspapers the Sun, the Times of London and the Sunday Times. The unit also included the 168-year-old News of the World weekly, which published its last issue on Sunday after becoming embroiled in the phone-hacking scandal that shocked the public and drew a furious government reaction.
The Journal, which is also owned by News Corporation, said Murdoch himself has long opposed such a move and considers News International one of his favourite components of his media empire. The Journal, citing the same sources, said that there did
not appear to be any buyers because of the poor state of the newspaper industry, but said the company may revisit the idea
in the next six months.
News Corporation's board has broached the idea of selling off News International on a number of occasions in recent years but that Murdoch himself always shot the idea down, the Journal said.