Media mogul Rupert Murdoch gave his most explicit statement yet on who will succeed him as News Corporation chief and it is not James.

The top boss clearly said if he were suddenly to be incapacitated, his chief operating officer, Chase Carey, would take over.

"I hope that the job won't be open in the near future and I have - you know Chase is my partner - if anything happened to me I'm sure he'll get it immediately," he said.

"But if I went under a bus... but Chase and I have full confidence in James, but you know in the end the succession is a matter for the board."

Until recently, head of News Corp's UK operations, James Murdoch, has been seen as his father's heir apparent.

By endorsing News Corp deputy chairman Chase Carey as his successor, 80-year old Mr Murdoch has acknowledge the phone-hacking scandal in the UK has hit on the standing of his son, although this has also been seen as a small move in revising controversial corporate governance arrangements that have led some to complain his company is run like a family firm and not a global media corporation.

News Corp’s chief, however, expressed no plans to stand down and he said the company's board was happy for him to keep his dual roles of chairman and chief executive.

Mr Murdoch made the comments as he announced a 22 per cent fall in company profits while it continues to deal with the phone hacking scandal.