2nd UPDATE: Australia's Ten Network Appoints James Warburton As CEO

Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of News Corp. (NWS) Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch, has found a successor for himself just a week after he took over as interim chief executive of Ten Network Holdings Ltd. (TEN.AU), owner of Australia's third-largest broadcast network.

Ten Network said Wednesday it was appointing James Warburton, a senior executive from rival company Seven Media Group, as chief executive, while separately announcing that major shareholder and Australian casino magnate James Packer had resigned as a director of the company.

The company did not give a reason for Packer's departure from the board, four months after accepting an offer to join following a buy-up of the company's shares that sparked a shake up in the broadcaster's ownership, with Murdoch and Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart also taking stakes.

A spokesperson for Packer did not return calls for comment.

Murdoch said in a statement he was "delighted" to welcome Warburton to Ten Network.

"I know James well and I also know that he will lead this business with great success," Murdoch said.

A person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires that Warburton had wanted to be chief executive officer but felt it was not going to happen at Seven Media Group.

Ten Network said it was intended that Warburton would also join the company's board and that he would commence as chief executive on July 14.

Seven Media Group Chief Executive David Leckie in a statement wished Warburton well on his new role at Ten Network. "We're sorry to lose him," Leckie said.

A spokesman for Murdoch declined to comment.

In further management changes, Ten Network said Group Chief Financial Officer John Kelly would leave the company on March 18 and would be replaced by Paul Anderson, currently chief financial officer for television.

The latest changes come after the contract of former chief executive Grant Blackley was terminated on Feb. 23. He had only been in the job since mid-December. The Ten Network board said at the time it expected first half earnings in the six months to the end of February to be about 103 million Australian dollars (US$102.8 million) before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, down from A$117 million last year and it would conduct a strategic review of the company's operations.

Blackley could not be contacted for comment.

Analysts have suggested that Packer would like Ten to adopt a lower-cost strategy rather than stick to plans advocated by former Executive Chairman Nick Falloon that involved beefing up Ten's nightly news offering and investing more in its new digital channels, One and Eleven.

Murdoch and Packer, son of the late Kerry Packer, are both heirs of Australia's dominant media executives of recent decades, while Rinehart is the daughter of late mining magnate Lang Hancock.

Lachlan Murdoch stepped down as News Corp.'s deputy chief operating officer in 2005, remaining at the company only as a non executive director and a voting stakeholder. Subsequently, he founded Illyria Pty. Ltd., a private investment firm based in Australia.

Murdoch and Packer together own 17.88% of Ten, while long-standing shareholder Bruce Gordon has 14.02% and Rinehart has 10.01%.

News Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire and The Wall Street Journal.

-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]