Network Ten has terminated the contract of its chief executive Grant Blackley and announced Lachlan Murdoch as his temporary replacement.
In a statement to the ASX, Ten's chairman Brian Long said Mr Murdoch accepted the position of acting CEO at the unanimous request of the board.
Mr Murdoch will remain in the position while the company undertakes an executive search for a new CEO.
Mr Long says the board remains responsible for Ten's strategic direction, and thanked Mr Blackley for his contribution, despite the immediate termination of his contract.
"I would like to thank Grant Blackley for his contribution to the company over some 20 years," he noted.
"The board would also like to thank Lachlan Murdoch for agreeing to accept an interim role at the board's request."
Mr Blackley must have had one of the shortest leadership tenures in Australian business, after replacing Ten's former executive chairman Nick Falloon on December 15 last year - a mere two months ago.
Mr Falloon was forced out of the company due to friction with Messrs Packer and Murdoch when they took their significant stakes in October and November last year respectively.
Grant Blackley was the head of the company's television division (a position he held since 2005) when he took on the role of CEO and retained that position during his tenure, but has now departed the company completely.
He certainly was not elevated to CEO in December on a temporary basis, as evidenced by this comment from Brian Long at the time of Mr Blackley's appointment.
"The board is confident the company is in very good hands as we move to deliver on our strategy in 2011 and beyond, and we look forward to Grant's further contribution as head of the listed entity," Ten's chairman wrote in the statement announcing the appointment.
Ten shares fell on the news of Mr Buckley's sudden axing, falling from $1.33 at yesterday's close to $1.285 at the end of trade today.
The management ructions have followed substantial ownership changes, with billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart taking a 10 per cent stake after Messrs Packer and Murdoch split 18 per cent of the company between themselves.
WIN television owner Bruce Gordon remains the biggest shareholder with a 14 per cent stake.
Roger Coleman, an analyst from CCZ Equities, says Ten may have elevated Lachlan Murdoch to the role because they want him to poach a News Corp executive for the top job.
"That Lachlan calls on the resources of News Corp's Fox Television network, B-Sky-B, Sky Italia, Germany, the whole lot, I mean there's vast revenue of TV talent in the News Corp empire," he told ABC News.
"The question is whether his father Rupert's willing to grant him that dispensation to attract somebody from his own field - from his own team - and that would be the natural thing to do."
Programming shake-up?
There has been speculation the ownership and management shake-up will lead to the scuttling of Ten's recent news and current affairs expansion.
Journalist, author and former Media Watch host Paul Barry told the ABC's PM program last year that he did not think Mr Packer would be interested in Ten's news and current affairs line-up, but wanted his stake in the network more for access to its free-to-air sport coverage.
"I think the downside for Ten is that it's now talking about expanding its coverage in news and current affairs and has got a very bold plan to spend money and do something different, and I don't think James Packer will be a supporter of that; he's never been really very interested in that in the past," he said.
"So if I were working at Ten, I'd be a bit sad at Packer's intervention."
The board also released an updated earnings forecast, which predicts half-year earnings before interest and tax of approximately $103 million, down from $117 million in the previous corresponding period.
The company's final audited half-year results are due out on April 7.
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