Young Murdoch faced tough path to the top

James Murdoch had to prove himself in the tough Asian pay TV market before gaining the support of his father Rupert for the top job at BSkyB.

The high-flying 30-year-old impressed media analysts as he proved his mettle to his father while at Hong Kong-based Star TV.

Some media watchers believe today’s appointment shows he has replaced his elder brother Lachlan as the heir apparent to Murdoch’s media empire, News Corporation.

Media analyst Graham Lovelace, of independent media consultancy Lovelacemedia, said that Murdoch senior, who spent 50 years building News Corporation from scratch, sees something of himself in his younger son.

Mr Lovelace said: “I believe he has seen a spark of his own entrepreneurial spirit in James. James has taken risks in a sector where there is no such thing as failure and you can’t predict the markets. Lachlan is more of a tactician.”

One of three children from Rupert’s second marriage to Anna, James had an unusual start to his career.

At Harvard University he drew cartoons for the satirical magazine Lampoon and now sits on the publication’s board. He also set up a hip hop record label, Rawkus in the mid 1990s.

The company was making a small profit when it was bought by News Corporation and James returned to the family business as head of the firm’s music division.

He ventured into the burgeoning dot.com market, investing in a series of Internet ventures, and is credited by some for piquing Murdoch senior’s interest in cyberspace.

But like many other dot.com investors James met with mixed results and News Corporation’s foray into the market was short-lived.

James’s mixed early performance did not dent his father’s confidence in his abilities and in May 2000 he was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of News Corporation subsidiary Star.

Under his leadership the company’s fortunes have rapidly improved, as Star moved into profit after building a strong presence in India and won “landing rights” in mainland China.

James has the ability to think strategically and to grow the company in the face of pressure from free-to-view digital channels, said Mr Lovelace

He believes Murdoch senior has been manoeuvring his son into position to take over at BSkyB for some time.

He describes James’s appointments to Star and then the News Corporation board in 2003 as “very timely”.

Since then the company’s big hitters, including News Corp’s respected chief operating officer Peter Chernin, have given James their solid backing. “They have been trying to sensitise the market to his achievements in South East Asia” says Mr Lovelace.

Whether the market will accept BSkyB becoming the only father and son company in the FTSE 100 remains to be seen.

Despite market doubts about the appointment, James could be just the thing BSkyB needs, says Mr Lovelace.

“James’s appointment will cause an immediate simmering row with shareholders but it may well be that it is the best thing for the firm. The time may come when BSkyB becomes Murdoch and Son.”