News Corp, the company of the media mogul Rupert Murdoch,
announced today that Murdoch’s son and heir, James, was appointed as Chairman
and Chief Executive, Europe and Asia.
In a move considered to be the biggest management shake-up
at the group in years, James Murdoch has been given the task of overseeing
Murdoch's international operations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, ranging
from Star TV, the Hong Kong-based Chinese network, to Sky Italia and a growing
broadcasting business in Eastern Europe.
These include also leading British newspapers titles The
Times, The Sunday Times, the Sun and the News of the World.
“James is a talented and proven executive with a rare blend
of international perspective and deep, hands-on experience in improving
operational results. He has transformed Sky, which is now not only Europe’s
most valuable television company, but also the fastest growing challenger in
the much larger UK
marketplace for entertainment, broadband and telephony. His experience at Sky,
combined with his track record in Asia while
running STAR, and prior roles, make him uniquely qualified to take forward
these exciting businesses that have grown so much over the last decade,” said Rupert
Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation.
As part of the restructuring, James Murdoch stepped down
Friday as chief executive of British satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
Jeremy Darroch, BSkyB's CFO, will take over the chief
executive role at the broadcaster, in which News Corporation retains a 39.1-per
cent stake.
"The team at Sky has demonstrated the success that can
be achieved with an appetite for change and a single-minded focus on
customers," Murdoch Jr said in a statement released in London Friday.
The changes followed an announcement in New York Thursday that Richard Zannino, head
of the media firm Dow Jones, which runs the Wall Street Journal, is to step
down after the planned takeover by Murdoch.
News Corporation confirmed that Les Hilton, executive
chairman of Murdoch's British newspaper group News International, will become
chief executive of Dow Jones & Co, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.
