James Murdoch is today expected to step down from his role as chief executive of BSkyB as he moves to become chairman of News Corp’s European and Asian businesses that also include Sky Italia and British newspapers The Times and The Sun.
Murdoch’s replacement as CEO of BSkyB will be Jeremy Darroch, currently chief financial officer of the DTH platform. Darroch is a former CFO of the electrical retailer Dixons and was appointed following a rigorous procedure led by Nicholas Ferguson, the independent non-executive director. Murdoch will remain at BSkyB in the role of non-executive chairman.
It is widely believed that James Murdoch will ultimately take over from his father as News Corp’s chairman and chief executive.