As the new chairman and chief executive for Europe and Asia, Murdoch junior is now directly responsible for the corporation's television, newspaper and digital assets across two continents.

According to reports in national newspapers, Wapping insiders expect James Murdoch to be a "hands-on" boss when he moves into the site – home of The Sun and The Times – next week.

Murdoch, who had been chief executive of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), replaces News International executive chairman Les Hinton, who is said to be headed to a chief executive role for Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones, said newspaper reports.

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, said his son's prior roles "make him uniquely qualified to take forward these exciting businesses" and that "this the right time to align our operations in Europe and Asia under new, structured group leadership".

James Murdoch said: "I am excited to be rejoining News Corporation in this new role leading News Corporation's businesses across Europe and Asia.

"Media is fundamentally a business of ideas where top-quality, professional journalism and creative entertainment have an extremely bright future," he added.