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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.
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