LONDON (Reuters) - Sky, one of Britain's biggest advertisers, on Wednesday reappointed WPP's (>> WPP Group) MediaCom as its media planning and buying agency, a decision that will offer a moment of relief to WPP's embattled chief executive Martin Sorrell.

The pay-TV broadcaster, which put its media buying account up for review in October, said MediaCom will work on its brand in the UK and Ireland, Spain, Germany and Austria. Sky Italia was not included in the review and will continue to be supported by MEC and Simple Agency, it said.

MediaCom said it was "thrilled" to renew its partnership, which will cover ad spending of about 425 million pounds ($604 million), according to industry paper Campaign.

Losing the business would have been a blow to WPP, and to Sorrell, who is facing an investigation into alleged misconduct.

($1 = 0.7038 pounds)

(Reporting by Paul Sandle)

Stocks treated in this article : Sky, WPP Group