News Corp restructures senior team ahead of split

MUMBAI: In a precursor to the split in its business empire, media conglomerate News Corporation has restructured its senior leadership team that oversees the company?s media and entertainment properties.

Peter Rice, who has served as Chairman of Entertainment for Fox Networks Group (FNG) since 2010, has been elevated to Chairman and CEO of FNG, where he will oversee all programming and operations for the group, which includes Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports Media Group, FX, Fox International Channels and the National Geographic Channels.

David Hill, who has served as Chairman and CEO of Fox Sports since 1999, has been elevated to Senior Executive Vice President, News Corporation. In this new role Hill will focus on programming, digital initiatives and other opportunities spanning the breadth of the company?s operating units across Latin America, Asia, Australia, Europe and the U.S. Hill will be based in Los Angeles.

In commenting on the promotions, News Corporation President and COO Chase Carey said, "The contributions that Peter has made to News Corporation over the years are immeasurable. Peter has proven himself at both the Fox Entertainment Networks, and Fox Searchlight before, to be one of the most innovative and strategic leaders in the entertainment industry."

David Haslingden, President and COO of FNG, and Mike Hopkins, President of Distribution for FNG, both of whom previously reported to Carey, will now report to Rice. Randy Freer and Eric Shanks, Co-Presidents of Fox Sports Media Group (FSMG), who previously reported to Hill, will also report to Rice. Kevin Reilly, President of Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company, and John Landgraf, President and GM of FX, will continue to report to Rice.

"I am honoured to work closely with the excellent executive team at FNG to lead these businesses into their next phase and am grateful to Rupert, Chase and James for this amazing opportunity," said Rice.

"The talented artists, powerful brands, franchises and live events we have in place across our channels are unrivaled in the media business, and will serve as an invaluable foundation as we embark on another wave of incremental growth."

"After 30 years spent building our sports businesses into global leaders, I?ve been eager to dive into a broader role that enables me to hunt down untapped programming, investment and digital opportunities all over the world. From sports rights in emerging markets to new overseas digital channels, this new role will allow me to explore and experiment with new programming concepts across the whole of News Corporation in a completely new way," said Hill.

News Corp has decided to split its business into two entities separating its film & television business, which contributes about 75 per cent of its revenues, from the publishing business, which has been was a drag on the conglomerate?s bottom line.