Jon Miller Named Chief Digital Officer at News Corp.

Former AOL chief will oversee MySpace and News Corp.'s joint venture with NBC Universal on Hulu.

Former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller is now an executive at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. filling positions created just for him: Chairman and CEO of the Digital Media Group and chief digital officer for News Corp.

Miller, currently working as a founding partner of Velocity Interactive Group, an investment firm, left AOL in 2006. At News Corp., Miller will be based in New York and report directly to Murdoch, according to a News Corp. announcement. The company said Miller, 52, “will be charged with driving digital strategy across News Corp. businesses.”

More specifically, Miller will oversee the company’s stand-alone digital businesses, such as MySpace, IGN Entertainment, and Photobucket. Additionally, he will be in charge of Jamba and the Hulu joint venture with NBC Universal, said News Corp., adding Miller “will also collaborate with operational heads and digital executives through all lines of business around the globe to develop and refine digital efforts.”

Miller could not be reached for comment, but in the hiring announcement he is quoted as saying he felt “fortunate to join the world’s most dynamic media company at a time when digital opportunities are shaping our business in new and exciting ways.”

In the same statement, Murdoch said the company has a two-pronged approach for the future. It plans to help its digital businesses grow as individual entities and it also wants to enliven the digital strategies of its core media properties. This will be accomplished, said Murdoch, by treating those properties “as central to, and not separate from, the enterprise.” Murdoch also said Miller’s background in media and entertainment, combined with his knowledge of the digital industry, made him “hands down” the best choice for the new positions.

Miller was in the news in August when Time Warner blocked his appointment to the Yahoo board, noting he had a non-compete agreement with AOL.

Peter Levinsohn, president at Fox Interactive Media, was named president of new media and distribution at Fox Filmed Entertainment. He will report to that division’s dual chairmen and CEOs Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman. In his role, Levinsohn is credited with the success of MySpace.

News Corp. said Levinsohn’s role will entail overseeing the distribution of Fox Filmed Entertainment’s content across all digital channels including Hulu and third-party platforms in the broadband, mobile and gaming markets.

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