News Corp studio co-chairman Rothman to step down

Zeebiz Bureau

Los Angeles: Tom Rothman, the co-chairman of the 20th Century Fox film unit, will step down by the end of the year as the News Corp is all set to separate its film and television production businesses, a news wire has reported.

Rupert Murdoch's media giant will consolidate film operations under Jim Gianopulos, Rothman's co-chair and CEO since 2000. The TV studio will operate as a separate unit.

News Corp is shuffling its executives as it prepares to separate into two publicly traded companies in 2013. Newspaper, book and magazine publishing will comprise one company and the Fox television and film properties will be the chief components of the other.

The Fox studio under Gianopulos and Rothman has annually ranked among Hollywood's most profitable studios. Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch and president Chase Carey lauded Gianopulos in a letter to Fox staffers, saying they "are confident that Jim's stellar business and creative acumen will take our film business to new heights."

Rothman said in a statement he had "done the same job, at the same place, for a very long time, and it is time for me to write a new chapter." He has worked at Fox for 18 years, a time when the studio released the two highest-grossing films in history, "Avatar" and "Titanic."

During his tenure, the studio ranked "consistently at the highest levels of industry profits" and made "dozens of films that will stand the test of time," Rothman said. "I am extremely proud of that run."

The company's television production business will operate under the name 20th Century Fox Television. Co-chairs Dana Walden and Gary Newman will report directly to Carey.

With Agency Inputs