News Corp announces STAR TV shakeup

Tuesday 18 Aug 2009 Rupert Murdoch's global News Corporation today announced restructuring plans for its Asian broadcasting unit STAR, splitting it into three and cutting jobs at its Hong Kong headquarters, AFP reports. Business will be divided between STAR India, STAR Greater China and Fox International Channels for the rest of Asia, comprising the existing English-language channels with the FOX and National Geographic brands. News Corporation's Chairman and Chief Executive for Europe and Asia, James Murdoch, said the decision was taken as STAR, which launched in 1991 with five channels, had become a major broadcaster in the region. "While it was once natural to have a larger, regional headquarters, the company has now reached a scale in its key local markets where we are ready to empower the teams on the ground and move a number of functions to be closer to viewers," he said in a statement issued in London and Hong Kong. The restructuring will also see STAR's Chief Executive Paul Aiello leave the company in December. A new office in Hong Kong would see a small group of existing executives take responsibility for supporting News Corporation interests in the region, including managing joint ventures like ESPN STAR Sports. Quoting a STAR spokeswoman, Dow Jones Newswires - which is also owned by News Corporation - reported that the job cuts would involve 30 percent of STAR's current workforce in Hong Kong Source: ABU Asia Pacific http://www.abu.org.my/abu/index.cfm/elementid/54137/News-Corp-announces-STAR-TV-shakeup