News Corp.'s shareholders registered a significant protest vote in the wake of a phone-hacking scandal in Britain, with more than a third of votes cast going against the re-election of Rupert Murdoch's sons James and Lachlan to the company's board.

About 35 percent voted against News Corp. International CEO James Murdoch, who approved payments to hacking victims, and 34 percent voted against Lachlan Murdoch. About 14 percent of shares were cast against company CEO Rupert Murdoch.

The results suggest that most shareholders not affiliated with the family are opposed to one of Murdoch's children taking control of the media conglomerate when its 80-year-old leader steps down. Murdoch controls about 38.4 percent of News Corp.'s voting shares.

The voting results from the company's annual shareholders meeting were released on Monday.