Jefferies has maintained its hold rating for pay-TV and broadband group British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), but says that James Murdoch's decision to step down as Chairman 'deflects some of the political risk following the phone-hacking scandal'.

BSkyB announced yesterday afternoon that Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert, would resign as Chairman but stay on the board as a non-executive director, something that came as no surprise given recent press speculation.

"The key issue for Sky's board is to be seen as independent to avoid getting caught in regulatory red tape," said analyst Will Smith.

Nevertheless, Jefferies believes that Murdoch is an "asset" to BSkyB "given his deep knowledge of the business from his days as CEO and we see his retention on the board as a positive."

The key to BSkyB now is the negotiation of the Premier League football rights and launch of competitor platforms such as YouView and Apple's iTV, the broker said.

The broker retained its 700p target price for BSkyB.

By 10:23 this morning, shares were trading 1.41% down at 666p.

BC

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