In an interview with the American investment publication Barron's, Murdoch admitted that he is biased but said that James is in the best position to do the job.
"Nobody is more qualified to take over a multichannel platform than James, with the exception of Charles Ergen of Echostar. But, of course, Charlie isn't available," he said in the interview.
Shareholders at the satellite broadcasting company disagree, and have forced the board of BSkyB to appoint a headhunter to look for a successor to Ball.
Names in the frame to take over on Ball's departure next spring include: Martin Stewart, BSkyB chief financial officer; Steve Bornstein, president of NFL Network; Julian Horn-Smith, chief operating officer of Vodafone; and Matt Blank, chief executive of Showtime Networks.
BSkyB tested the waters with shareholders about appointing James Murdoch, who currently runs the Star satellite network in Asia, with a number of reports suggesting that he would take over from Ball.
Resistance from shareholders has been strong, with demands for an independent succession plan that will see James face the prospect of undertaking psychometric testing as part of the selection process.
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