When James Murdoch takes the stage at the British Sky Broadcasting BSkyB annual meeting next month, he could be forgiven for experiencing a sense of déjà vu. Two years ago, when the UK satellite broadcaster chaired by Rupert Murdoch chose the media mogul’s younger son as chief executive, he arrived amid shareholder mutterings about News Corporation’s influence over the company and market concern about BSkyB’s ability to hold on to its exclusive rights to air Premier League football games. Last year, again, a proposed share buyback prompted a minor revolt from investors.

This week, as the increasingly bellicose rhetoric coming out of the European Commission has heightened concerns that Brussels will end force BSkyB to give up its rights to a substantial number of monopoly over Premiership rights, matches, one investor publicly voiced fears that BSkyB’s latest share buy-back proposal will allow News Corp to take “creeping control” by increasing its 37.2 per cent stake in BSkyB. News Corp has promised to cap its voting rights at the current level, even if its economic stake increases, but some shareholders investors are sceptical about such promises after it went back on an assurance that it would not extend “poison pill” protections without shareholder consent.