Murdoch to step down as CEO of Fox

Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive of Twenty-First Century Fox, is preparing to step down and name his son James as successor, CNBC has reported.

The 84-year-old is expected to remain chairman of the company but it is not yet clear whether the reorganisation would take place this year or at the start of 2016.

In 2012 James Murdoch was forced to resign from his role as chairman of Sky over the phone hacking scandal at the family’s UK newspapers.

As well as the change in chief executive, Fox’s joint-chief operating officer, Chase Carey, will also step down and take up an advisory role, it has been reported.

A Fox spokesman said: “The matter of succession is on the agenda at our upcoming, regularly scheduled board meeting.”