News Corp. will split its publishing division from its film and television division to form two distinct public companies but Rupert Murdoch has denied the move is motivated by the British phone-hacking scandal or an attempt to advance his sons' careers.

“This has nothing to do with family succession or anything like that,” Murdoch told the Financial Times.

The 81-year-old executive has long been pressured by investors to separate the divisions because they saw the slower-growing publishing unit as a drag on more profitable film and television ventures. 

One company will include 20th Century Fox, Fox broadcast network and Fox News Channel while the other company will comprise The Wall Street Journal, the Times of London and HarperCollins.

Murdoch insisted the decision to spin off the two companies had "nothing to do" with investigations related to the scandal which rocked News Corp.'s London newspaper arm.

 

Read the story at the Wall Street Journal.

More from Neon Tommy about the News Corp. scandal.

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