Shareholders at European pay-TV giant Sky voted in favour of re-electing James Murdoch as chairman on Thursday, despite concerns about his impartiality in the face of its possible takeover by his father Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox. More than 78 percent of voting investors backed the younger Murdoch's re-election at an annual general meeting at Sky's London headquarters, hours after the company said in a trading update that its subscriber base has swelled on demand for cult US series Game of Thrones.
Some investor groups had expressed unease over James Murdoch serving any longer, in light of his other role as chief executive of 21st Century Fox - which is seeking to buy the 61 percent of Sky it does not already own. The takeover of Sky is being held up by a UK investigation into the proposed deal worth £11.7 billion ($15.4 billion, 13 billion euros).