The daughter of Rupert Murdoch will not join the board of News Corporation as had been expected.
News Corp says Elisabeth Murdoch, 42, has told its directors that it would be inappropriate to join the board.
She was expected to join the News Corp board after it bought Shine Group, a UK television production company she runs.
In February, her father said he expected her to make the move after the £415 million deal had been completed.
In July, News Corp dropped a takeover bid for BSkyB amid disclosures that reporters working for the now-defunct News of the World had hacked into the mobile phones of celebrities and others.
US investors had questioned News Corp's purchase of Ms Murdoch's Shine Group before the scandal broke.
In March, US pension funds sued News Corp for buying the business, claiming that the company was ''paying for nepotism''.
