Panorama’s accusations ‘gross misrepresentation’

Published on 30/03/2012 02:24

News Corporation has accused the BBC’s Panorama of “gross misrepresentation” after a documentary alleged that a subsidiary helped hackers to target rival ONdigital.

Chief operating officer Chase Carey, Rupert Murdoch’s right-hand man, said in a statement: “The BBC’s Panorama programme was a gross misrepresentation of (subsidiary) NDS’s role as a high quality and leading provider of technology and services to the pay-TV industry, as are many of the other press accounts that have piled on – if not exaggerated – the BBC’s inaccurate claims. Panorama presented manipulated and mischaracterised e-mails to produce unfair and baseless accusations.”

NDS provides encryption technology for BSkyB and other pay-TV businesses.

Panorama broadcast allegations linking NDS to the pirating of access cards for ONdigital – which was rebranded ITV Digital before collapsing in 2002 – allowing viewers to watch channels for free.

A BBC spokesman said: “We stand by the Panorama investigation. We have received NDS’s correspondence and are aware of News Corp’s rejection of Panorama’s revelations.”