Murdoch boys battle to succeed their father

Rupert Murdoch's boys are rivals to head News Corp. David Usborne says they are the two halves of their famous father.

NEW YORK - The battle between Rupert Murdoch's children over who might succeed him as head of News Corp has intensified, with the company preparing to appoint James Murdoch as chairman and chief executive of Star TV.

The move to Star's home base of Hong Kong is a dramatic step-up for James, 27, vying for pole position in the succession race with his elder and more seasoned brother, Lachlan, 28.

James, who will marry this month, expects to be in Hong Kong for two years. "At this point they are pitted against one another in fierce competition," one News Corp insider said. "There is very clearly a developing rivalry between them."

Out of the picture for now is daughter Elisabeth, who will leave BSkyB, the satellite TV operation that is partly News Corp owned, to start a film and new media company.

James, who dropped out of Harvard in 1995 to start a record label called Rawkus Entertainment, has been an executive vice-president of News Corp with responsibility for its music division, but he pitches himself as the new media power in the family.

Lachlan, who runs News Corp's interests in Australia, risks being seen as more of an old media figure.

In charge of Star, James will have his first experience of operating a key segment of his father's empire. Not everyone is sure he will succeed.

Star is pivotal to Rupert's plans to fuse his satellite television and internet businesses. "If James can sprinkle some of his internet fairy dust on Star then he may begin to eclipse Lachlan," a News Corp executive said.

James' other role in Asia will be as a political ambassador for his father.

Rupert is said to resent suggestions that he is playing his sons off nts o in an almost mediaeval fight nte for his final nod. Friends say he is interested only in giving them space to mature in the corporation, the fourth largest media conglomerate in the world.

Bought from a Hong Kong tycoon in the mid-90s, Star TV has become a core component of News Corp. It broadcasts to an area of Asia that contains half of the world's population.

Rupert triggered controversy by agreeing to take BBC programming out of Star's roster of channels in return for a deal to allow him to broadcast in mainland China.

There is nothing to indicate an abdication is imminent. At 69, Rupert shows no sign of flagging. And the expectation on Wall St remains that were he to be knocked over by a bus, operating control of the company would fall to president Peter Chernin.

Mr Chernin's power is such that few would dare portray him simply as someone willing to serve in any kind of father-son interregnum.

While the Murdoch family still control something less than a third of the company stock, it remains possible that he could emerge as the long-term successor to Rupert. The children would have to accept subsidiary roles or even leave.

If it is to be one of the sons, however, the betting is confused. Lachlan has clearly been in a stronger position so far. Inside the corporation, he is considered more personable and management-oriented than James. But James is considered more of a visionary.

Those who know the family best often come to the same interesting conclusion: that Lachlan and James form the two halves of their father, the former with his charm, powers of persuasion and managerial energy, the latter with his gift for seeing over the horizon and making deals. Putting them on the throne side by side may not, however, be a recipe for a smooth succession.

- INDEPENDENT