James Murdoch can’t quit quitting. Just last week he stepped down from his sixth executive position, and now The Guardian is reporting that Murdoch is vacating his position as CEO and Chairman of BSkyB. Murdoch has held the position at the company since 2003, and his departure means there is now no family member holding a top spot at the broadcaster for the first time in several years.

Murdoch has now stepped down from seven executive positions. His BkyB departure is hardly surprising, and as the language of this joint statement from Rupert Murdoch and Chase Carey indicates, no one is exactly pleased about the ordeal:

We are grateful for James Murdoch’s successful leadership of BSkyB. He has played a major role in propelling the company into the market-leading position it enjoys today – and in the process has been instrumental in creating substantial value for News Corporation shareholders. We look forward to BSkyB’s continued growth under the leadership of Nicholas Ferguson and Jeremy Darroch and to James’ continued substantial contributions at News Corporation.

With most of the U.K. discussing all aspects of the Royal Wedding (will Prince William do the Electric Slide or not???), the news that News Corporation is expected to be cleared to takeover BSkyB is probably being dismissed, even though it shouldn’t be.

The Financial Times is reporting that Jeremy Hunt, the country’s Culture Secretary, is not likely to block the deal, no matter what some have said:

Arbitrageurs contacted by the Financial Times are dismissing the possibility of a legal challenge to Mr Hunt’s decision, which he said earlier this month would be delayed until “just after” the return of parliament on Tuesday. The consortium of newspaper owners and BT have privately conceded they will not seek a judicial review of the decision.

Yesterday Rupert Murdoch set in motion a plan to spin off Sky News, effectively clearing the way for News Corporation to buy the remaining portion of BSkyB that it currently doesn’t own.

The Guardian just reported that Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has approved the plan:

Under the deal, the loss-making news subsidiary will be spun off into a new publicly listed company called Newco, and will be independently funded for 10 years. News Corporation is to license the Sky News brand to the operation for seven years, providing an incentive to renew a second funding deal.

Opponents of the deal – including The Guardian – are considering filing for a judicial review of the decision.

They better think quick. With News Corp. taking over BSkyB, the company now not only owns the majority of newspapers in Britain, it controls the biggest TV station as well. And you thought America’s media was bad.