Fox Networks boss David Haslingden stepping down

David Haslingden, president and COO of Fox’s channels division, has stepped down and will leave the News Corp company at the end of the year. His departure follows a restructure at Fox Networks Group (FNG) announced last month that saw Peter Rice elevated to chairman and CEO. Under the new structure, Haslingden reports to Rice whereas previously he reported directly to News Corp’s president and COO Chase Carey.

In a statement News said that Haslingden plans to “return to his native Australia and spend more time with his family.”

He had only been in the president and COO role at FNG since last January when another restructure was implemented. That saw Tony Vinciquerra replaced by Haslingden. Prior to that Haslingden was running Fox’s international channels as CEO of its FIC division.

Following the January restructure, Rice and other senior Fox execs including David Hill and Mike Hopkins all reported to Carey. Following the July restructure, Haslingden and Hopkins report directly to Rice as do Randy Freer and Eric Shanks, the co-presidents of Fox Sports Media Group who previously reported to David Hill.

Speaking about Haslingden’s departure, Rice said: “As we look to continue FNG’s incredible growth trajectory, our future successes will in many ways be the result of David’s innovative leadership over the last several years. He will be missed by all of us.”

Haslingden said: “In a little over a decade we’ve built a behemoth internationally and in the last two years we’ve helped unify FNG and set it up for a future of super-charged growth. But as terrific as Fox and National Geographic are, my family is by far my greatest love, and being away from them for almost two years is long enough. I’m delighted to be on my way home.”