James Murdoch to head Sky Italia

by John Reynolds Media Week 26-Jun-08, 11:00

LONDON - James Murdoch is to replace his father as president of Sky Italia, the Italian satellite TV operation, and is closing on a deal to acquire German satellite TV operation Premiere - moves which further boost his position in his father's global media empire.

The appointment of Murdoch, who is also non-executive chairman of BSkyB, to the role of president of Italy's only satellite TV operator, follows just six months after he took over the running of News Corp's European and Asian operations.

Sky Italia has around 4.5 million subscribers and is run by chief executive Tom Mockridge, who is also chief executive of News Corp's newly created European Television unit, which is looking to grow the group's expansion across Europe.

Meanwhile, the unit was given a boost when the European Commission cleared News Corporation's proposed acquisition of Premiere, the German pay TV operator.

The commission, however, said its clearance was subject to conditions, which ensure third-party access to the German operator's satellite platform.

These moves follow James Murdoch's introduction of a raft of top-level changes at UK subsidiary News International on 23 June, to reflect merged commercial operations between Times Media and News Group Newspapers.

The main change involves group managing director of newspaper divisions Clive Milner, who is promoted to chief operating officer. Milner will have responsibility for all operations from distribution to procurement and content delivery.