News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch will remain in control of the separate entertainment and publishing companies following the News Corp. split.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- News Corp. confirmed Thursday that it is planning to split into two publicly traded companies, with one company for its television and film assets and the other including its publishing entities.
News Corp. said that its board "authorized management to explore this separation" after a meeting on Wednesday.
The split would separate the 20th Century Fox film studio, Fox broadcast network and Fox News Channel from newspapers and book publishing.
News Corp.'s (NWS) publishing unit owns newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London and The New York Post. Its book publishing assets include HarperCollins.
Once the split is completed, Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch will serve as chairman of both companies, according to News Corp. Murdoch will also serve as CEO of the media and entertainment company and Chase Carey will serve as its president and chief operating officer. Carey is currently the COO of News Corp.
The company did not announce who will be CEO of the publishing company.
"There is much work to be done, but our Board and I believe that this new corporate structure we are pursuing would accelerate News Corporation's businesses to grow to new heights, and enable each company and its divisions to recognize their full potential - and unlock even greater long-term shareholder value," said Murdoch in a prepared statement.
Media magnate Murdoch has been hounded in recent months by criminal investigations into his company over hacking into people's phones and improper collusion with British police. The scandal prompted News Corp. to shut down its venerable U.K. tabloid News of the World last year.
A report last month from a British Parliament committee said that Murdoch was not a "fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company."
Shares of News Corp. rose slightly in pre-market trading Thursday. The stock is up 11% since News Corp. confirmed reports Tuesday that it was considering a split.
Thanks in part to the break-up news, News Corp. has outperformed the shares of most of its other media rivals this year. Its stock has done better than CBS (CBS, Fortune 500), Viacom (VIAB, Fortune 500) and CNNMoney parent Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500). However, shares are slightly lagging the year-to-date returns of Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune 500).
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