That was looking less likely today, after the BSkyB announcement about writing off its Kirch investment.
BSkyB leads the UK pay-TV market with 10.7 million customers compared with Virgin Media's 4.9 million.
BBC: Virgin Media in talks with John Malone's Liberty Global
Yet there is little precedent to predict how Ofcom's review with BSkyB will play out.
WSJ: Ofcom's Review of BSkyB License, News Corp.'s Stake, Will Be Lengthy
As well as being chairman of BSkyB, he is deputy chief operating officer of News Corporation.
But the newspaper said it was "not clear" whether BSkyB would be providing clips.
Over the course of the year, the number of BSkyB's customers increased from 9.8m to 10.4m.
Bets were mixed on Wall Street as to whether the BskyB deal will get done.
He stepped down as chairman of BSkyB last month but remains on the board.
WSJ: Ofcom's Review of BSkyB License, News Corp.'s Stake, Will Be Lengthy
's proposed BSkyB buyout, which has already been held up by regulators for 13 months.
Later this month shareholders of BSkyB will vote on whether Mr Murdoch should stay as chairman.
First, News Corp isn't in quite as good financial shape as BSkyB, and needs the cash.
However, Mr Murdoch's share of the UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB continues to prove a winner.
But BSkyB's stake remains below the 20 percent threshold permitted by UK media ownership rules.
That would certainly make it a viable threat to the likes of BSkyB.
The latest maneuver was revealed today in London, where BSkyB announced a writeoff of its KirchPayTV investment.
However, Ofcom's inquiry concluded that BSkyB was a "fit and proper" company to hold a broadcasting licence.
However, the largest effect is likely to be on the proposed takeover of BSkyB by News International.
BSkyB will show 96 matches including the sought-after "A" package of games, played on late Sunday afternoons.
In a statement earlier, BSkyB said it remained a "fit and proper" holder of a broadcasting licence.
Murdoch needs to particularly worry about the grounds on which the regulators would debar the BSkyB deal.
FORBES: Rupert Murdoch and the Regulators: Will News Corp. Become a Renegade Organization?
But will they trade away that loyalty should it become a condition of approving its BSkyB deal?
David Bank of RBC Capital Markets believes the consolidation of BSkyB would be accretive to News Corp.
But BSkyB indicated it would exercise its option to sell the stake back to Kirch later this year.
Janco Partners analyst Gregory Kolb believes that behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts should be enough to improve relations with BSkyB.
James's father, Rupert Murdoch, is the mogul behind the media empire News Corp, which owns 39% of BSkyB.
Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey said Tuesday that they were grateful for James Murdoch's leadership of BSkyB.
If he withdraws the BSkyB bid, he will at least have defused one bomb ticking in his corner.
FORBES: Rupert Murdoch and the Regulators: Will News Corp. Become a Renegade Organization?
The Labour leader also called on the government to rethink its decision to agree to the BSkyB takeover.
The question now is whether this will make the government's dilemma about the takeover of BSkyB easier or harder?
BSkyB dominates the pay-TV market with about 10 million customers, but lags behind BT with 4.3 million broadband customers.
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