The breaking news this morning:
The Financial Times has found that OfCom has increased its team looking at the evidence coming from the Leveson Enquiry to asses whether James Murdoch is a "fit and proper person" to run BSkyB. News Corp has a 39.1% shareholding in BSkyB which declares annual profits approaching $2billion. News Corp also owns News International which published the News of the World (NoTW) and still has The Times, The Sunday Times and the Sun. The head of the Murdoch 'mafia family' - as an MP describes it - recently launched 'The Sun on Sunday' to replace NoTW
As the FT is behind a paywall, let the Grauniad explain the implications:
The media regulator set up a dedicated group of seven or eight staff under the name Project Apple at around the turn of the year as part of an assessment that is also taking in whether News Corporation is a fit and proper controlling investor in the satellite broadcaster.
If Ofcom concluded that either Murdoch or News Corp were not appropriate owners, the regulator could revoke Sky's licence to broadcast in the UK, forcing it to switch off its channels, unless Murdoch stepped down from the board or News Corp sold its 39.1% stake.
Update:
A bit more detail and background.
Ofcom - the name is Brit Newspeak for "The Office of Telecommunications" - is analogous to the US Federal Communications Commission. Apart from the BBC which is set up under a Royal Charter, it licenses all broadcasting companies and each of the channels they carry.
BSkyB is the main, virtually the only, paid for satellite broadcasting platform available in the UK and Eire. It has its own subscription channels which include general entertainment, news, arts and, most profitable, movies and sports. In addition its 'Electronic Programme Guide' or EPG carries the free to air channels provided by the terrestrial 'public service broadcasters' - the BBC's 9 TV channels and radio; Channel 3 (the largest 'franchisee' for this is ITV but there are also Scottish Television and Ulster Television which are still separate companies. ITV also has three additional general interest and a children's channel); Channel 4 and its 'digital channels' and Five and its digital channels. In the Irish Republic it also carries RTE, the Irish state broadcaster's channels. Also on their EPG are a number of other channels run by different broadcasters which are included in their various packages but can be free to air.
BSkyB also has a presence on the digital terrestrial platform, Freeview with the SD version of their Sky News and a couple of other channels carrying programs shown on their main entertainment channels but often these are previous seasons.
Free satellite services are available in the UK from freesat, a joint BBC/ITV venture and in Ireland from Soarsat from RTE. In the case of freesat, other broadcasters pay to have their free-to-air advertising funded channels on the EPG.
Because BSkyB is both a subscription platform and has its own subscription channels, the implications of its closure could be profound. It owns, for example, the live broadcasting rights to many sports including F1 car racing, soccer and cricket. Closing Sky would mean huge losses to the bodies that run the sports.