Ms Murdoch Becomes BSkyB Head

Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert Murdoch, has been appointed as head of programming at BSkyB.

She was previously general manager at the satellite broadcaster and her new position gives credence to the belief that she is being groomed to take over her father’s media empire. The appointment follows a restructure made necessary by the departure of David Elstein *Elstein Moves To C5 to Channel 5 to become chief executive. Working alongside Ms Murdoch as head of programming will be James Baker who joins from Nickelodeon. Les Sampson, previously programme manager at the Australian Nine Network, also joins as controller of Sky channels.

…Sky Sports will be broadcasting another pay-per-view boxing event on November 9. Six title fights will be shown from Manchester’s Nynex Arena and Las Vegas’s MGM Grand, featuring action from Nigel Benn and Prince Naseem. Subscribers will be charged £9.95 to view the fights. This will be only the second pay-per-view event in the UK after the Bruno vs Tyson clash was screened for £9.95 in March *BSkyB Claims Pay-Per-View Success. According to BSkyB over 600,000 homes paid to watch, which is more than 14% of its subscriber base.

*MediaTel subscribers only

BSkyB: 0171 705 3000