Hong Kong – News Corporation finally announced the restructure of its Asian broadcast businesses into three units. The business will be hived off into Star India, Star Greater China and a third operation covering the rest of Asia known as Fox International Channels, which will combine English-language channels such as Star World and Star Movies with those carrying the FOX and National Geographic brands. In an internal memo to staff, James Murdoch, chairman and chief executive, Europe and Asia, News Corporation, said a reduction of 30 percent in Hong Kong operations is expected by June; headcount there currently numbers around 560. Asked by Television Asia Plus whether the majority of job losses would be from the Star operation, Ward Platt, president Fox International Channels Asia said, “This is a merger, not a takeover,” adding that there are a lot of great staff, “so where duplications of roles exist, these will be addressed very carefully.” He also clarified that while the operations are being combined, this does not mean that the channel brands are being combined. “The Star channel brands will continue to exist outside of Greater China and India, and we are looking to grow those brands.” Murdoch’s internal memo continued, “There are two other important changes to announce. First, we will create a small, News Corp office in Hong Kong to manage our interests. It will include corporate functions that will report to respective functional heads at News Corp. Second, Paul Aiello has decided to step down as CEO of STAR,” said Murdoch. “While it was once natural to have a larger, Asia headquarters in Hong Kong to provide services for individual marketplaces, the Company has reached a level of local market capabilities where we have the talent and technology to go a step further. Accordingly, we will reduce the size of the regional-service operations in Hong Kong and move resources closer to viewers. This in turn will increase scale and flexibility for advertisers and affiliates and improve operational efficiency,” said Murdoch. Star India and STAR Greater China will report directly to Murdoch. FOX International Channels, led by Ward Platt, will report to David Haslingden, CEO of FOX International Channels and National Geographic Channels Worldwide. Aiello will stay with News Corp. until December to help manage the restructuring. Star India now operates 19 channels in eight languages, including its Hindi general entertainment channel Star Plus, reaching about 226 million cumulative homes. Star Greater China will oversee five Chinese-language channels, while Fox International Channels will operate 37 channels under 17 brands as part of the restructuring. First reported by Television Asia Plus in January 2009, this restructure was vociferously denied by then COO Laureen Ong.