Few media machinations in recent years have inspired more quips and questions than News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch’s decision to elevate his own family members as leaders of his 21st Century Fox empire. In their first interview since ascending to the throne in July, 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch and his brother Lachlan, the company’s executive chairman, opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about who’s in charge, the new age of television and other matters concerning the business of running a media conglomerate whose holdings include the Fox network; cable channels Fox News, FX and Nat Geo; Fox Sports; a share of the Sky pay TV services throughout Europe; and thriving film and TV studios in Los Angeles.

The Murdoch brothers have taken over a film and TV business recently capped at $58.5 billion, despite being shrouded in controversy.

“We have a huge number of creators in this business, on this lot, a huge number of journalists and editors around the world who have nothing to do with his politics or his thoughts,” said Lachlan James when asked about his father’s political leanings. “They make entirely their own decisions.” (Neither brother would expound on their own politics, though James’ investment in ventures such as the Quadrivium foundation, which “supports programs that create both prosperous communities and innovation in the sustainable use of resources,” might offer a hint.)

When asked, by THR interviewer Matthew Belloni, about the successful Disney strategy of snapping up smaller media fiefdoms, James Murdoch said that, while “franchises are super, super important… one of the things I’m most proud of is the creative diversity of the film slate and the television production slate.” He added that he wants people with great original concepts to be able to say, “I’m not afraid to bring that to Fox.”

On the brothers’ new joint leadership role, James Murdoch said that “Lachlan and I are actually partners and equal shareholders in the business.” Added Lachlan: “Functionally, everyone reports to both of us equally. We make the decisions together.” The brothers may argue over smaller things, said James, but as a unit are “pretty clear on strategy, and I think over the next year or two years, you’ll see a record of moving the company forward at a pretty high velocity.”

Such forward momentum could include buying the rest of Sky that Fox doesn’t already own and growing the streaming business of brands like Nat Geo. With advertising and distribution models constantly evolving, James said that the “main job at hand at the Fox network… is, how do we make it excellent in terms of putting great programming in front of viewers…? Too often in the industry, we focus on the existing or past business rules and not on the product itself and new business rules and opportunities that are going to emerge from that.”

Read the full interview, including the Murdochs’ thoughts on Fox Sports and their relationship with Fox News’ longtime leader Roger Ailes, at The Hollywood Reporter.

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