Sources told the magazine that the hacking scandal had frightened News International executives away from launching a replacement tabloid – widely expected to be The Sun on Sunday this summer, despite earlier speculation that it could launch in August for the start of the football season.

Speculation has mounted as to how the company will fill the hole left in the Saturday night slot, with some questioning if News International would seek an alternative.

James Murdoch, chairman of News International, told MPs at a select committee hearing last week that there were no immediate plans to replace the News of the World.

Earlier reports speculated that News International executives had approached advertisers with a view to launching next month, however, Media Week has been told that this is not the case.

News International is the owner of the domain name, sunonsunday.co.uk.