NEW YORK -- After being passed over to lead the Viacom Television Stations Group, longtime TV executive Dennis Swanson has jumped conglomerates for a key role at News Corp.'s Fox Television Stations Group.

Swanson will become president of station operations of the Fox Television Stations Group on Oct. 10 at a time of tremendous change at the unit that owns 35 Fox O&Os nationwide. After the departure of Lachlan Murdoch, Fox News chief Roger Ailes was given overall responsibility for the stations group. Ailes, along with other current and former associates at Fox News, is beginning to remake the stations group.

Swanson won't, however, report to Ailes; he'll report to Jack Abernethy, Ailes' onetime lieutenant at Fox News who was named chief executive officer of the stations group last December.

The 67-year-old executive was executive vp-chief operating officer of the Viacom Television Stations Group. He was considered in line to take over after the departure of Fred Reynolds -- and Reynolds' return to Viacom/CBS Corp. earlier this year -- but stations group sales chief Tom Kane got the job instead.

Swanson has decades of experience in local and national television, not only as president of ABC Sports between 1986 and 1996 but also as head of ABC Daytime and its childrens programming unit. He was president-general manager of WNBC-TV, NBC's New York O&O as well as vp-general manager of WLS-TV, ABC's O&O in Chicago. He ran ABC's stations group in 1985 and 1986.