James Murdoch, the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is to return to pay TV and telecoms firm Sky (LON:SKY) as chairman.
Murdoch, who was previously chief executive and then chairman of Sky, gave up the chair when under pressure because of his role as chairman of News International at the height of the phone hacking scandal, though he remained on the board as a non-executive director.
James Murdoch's role in the handling of the phone hacking scandal “repeatedly fell short” of the standards expected of a Senior executive, according to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom.
The company obviously feels the dust has settled and the taint has faded enough for Murdoch to resume his role of chairman, and it is unlikely its major shareholder, Fox, which owns 39.1% of the company and is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, will object.
James Murdoch is currently chief executive officer of 21st Century Fox.
He replaces Nicholas Ferguson, who will step down from the board at the end of April after 12 years on the board.
Martin Gilbert has been appointed as deputy chairman, with Andrew Sukawaty taking over his former role as Sky's Senior Independent Director.
The appointment represents another case of “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”, after Rebekah Brooks returned last September as chief executive of News UK a year after she was cleared of all charges relating to the phone hacking scandal after denying any knowledge of the illegal activities of her staff.
It is also likely to revive speculation that Fox will attempt a full takeover of the company, tightening the Murdoch dynasty's hold over the British media.
Murdoch returns at a time when Sky appears to be recovering its poise after an assault on its pat-TV heartland by BT (LON:BT.A).
Results released on Friday morning showed underlying earnings (EBITDA) in the six months to the end of December rose 8% to £1.05bn while revenue rose 5% to £5.72bn.
The Sky TV service saw 337,000 customers sign up in the final three months of 2015, notching up the highest UK and Ireland customer growth for ten years.
Shares in Sky were up 2.2% to 1,064p in mid-morning trading.