It's a story that just keeps going. Unfortunately for Rupert Murdoch, his News Corp. is at the center of these troubled waters in the UK. First it was his tabloid newspapers, now it's television.
On Monday, the BBC's Panorama program reported that a News Corp. unit used a hacker to undermine ITV Digital, a chief rival of its Sky TV. ITV Digital folded in 2002.
According to The Telegraph report of the show, NDS Group, partly owned by News Corp., hired a man who ran a piracy website (The House of Ill-Compute) and had him post codes which allowed viewers to watch ITV Digital channels for free. NDS software enables secure delivery of cable and satellite content to TV boxes. NDS is in the process of being acquired by Cisco Systems.
Before the Panorama program was shown, The Independent reported that News Corp. said: “NDS has consistently denied any wrongdoing to Panorama and we fully accept their assurances.”
Whether the allegation is true, it is another slam against News Corp.'s reputation, which has been taking a beating. Murdoch closed News of the World in July amid phone-hacking allegations. And The Sun is dealing with allegations of bribing police and other officials for information.
When you're in the news business, what else do you really have to trade on besides reputation and credibility.
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