Ten hires Murdoch as chief exec

Australia’s Ten Network has brought in Lachlan Murdoch as chief executive following the termination of Grant Blackley’s contract.

Murdoch will become chief executive on an interim basis as it looks for a permanent replacement. This follows the move last November that saw Murdoch and James Packer join the Ten Network board after they took a stake in the company.

The news comes as the broadcaster posted its latest financial results that saw its television profits drop from A$109 million last year to A$92 million.

“At the unanimous request of the board, Lachlan Murdoch has agreed to accept the role of acting chief executive officer during the period that an executive search is undertaken,” the company noted in a statement.

Ten Network has seen big ratings for its local version of cooking format Masterchef and recently launched digital spin-off channel Eleven.

Blackley has worked at Ten Network for over 20 years and replaced John McAlpine as chief executive in 2005.