James Murdoch Headshot - P 2013
Courtesy of 21st Century FoxLONDON – 21st Century Fox deputy COO James Murdoch has recently joined the board of youth media company Vice Media, in which Fox this summer acquired a 5 percent stake.
The son of Fox chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch now serves as a director of the privately youth media company along with former Viacom CEO Tom Freston and others, sources said without providing details on when he started the role. Because Vice is not publicly traded, it doesn’t have to announce such appointments or disclose who sits on its board.
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Vice controls a majority of the board. Fox and Vice representatives declined to comment.
The London Evening Standard first reported the board role for James Murdoch, who also serves as chairman and CEO, international at Fox.
He has been focusing on the global TV business at the entertainment conglomerate. After the 2011 phone hacking scandal led him to resign from several board roles, he has recently taken on new board roles again.
Earlier this fall, he was named chairman of German pay TV firm Sky Deutschland, which Fox controls.
Murdoch also continues to serve on the boards of both Fox and News Corp, the publishing-focused company chaired by his father. The two firms were separated mid-year.
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The acquisition of the 5 percent stake in Vice Media came for $70 million, valuing the firm at $1.4 billion, sources told THR at the time.
Vice started as a magazine, but has branched out into investigative journalism and forged an edgy, digital news brand that targets younger demographics. The company partnered with HBO for Vice, a newsmagazine series that was earlier this year picked up for a second season.
E-mail: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai
