James Murdoch Takes on Expanded Role at News Corp.

NEW YORK, December 7: James
Murdoch is stepping down as the chief executive of BSkyB to succeed his
father, Rupert
Murdoch, as non-executive chairman of the satellite platform and take on
the new role of chairman and chief executive for Europe and Asia at News
Corporation.

In his new role at News Corp., the younger Murdoch will take
direct responsibility for the strategic and operational development of the
company’s television, newspaper and related digital assets in Europe, Asia and
the Middle East. 
Operating units under his mandate include News
International UK, Sky Italia, STAR Group and News Corporation Europe. He will
rejoin the Board of Directors of News Corp., on which he served from 2000 to
2003, and become a member of the office of the chairman. He will report to Peter
Chernin, the president and COO of News Corp. and will be based in London.

The move, which confirms his position as the likely
successor to take over as head of News Corp., makes him number three at the
conglomerate, after his father and Chernin.

At Sky, CFO Jeremy Darroch assumes the position of chief
executive. He joined the company in August 2004.

In announcing today’s appointment, Rupert Murdoch noted:
“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 U.K.
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. This is the right time to align our
operations in Europe and Asia under new, structured group leadership.” 


—By Mansha Daswani