The board of the News Corporation, which is headed by media industry tycoon, Rupert Murdoch, is reported planning to split the $ 60 billion media conglomerate into two separate entities.

The board will split the group into separate units each responsible for publishing and entertainment businesses, according to people closer to the matter. The board met on Wednesday and is set to announce a decision on Thursday to create two publicly listed companies.

The details about the new management structure are yet to be announced and a formal approval from the board will be required for the plan to move ahead. The transition process is expected to take about a year, a report suggested citing sources closer to the development.

The move, which has been resisted by Mr. Murdoch since years, will help save the News Corp's more profitable TV operations from the scandal-hit UK newspaper business. News Corporation has a 39 per cent stake in UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB.

In the publishing industry, the group runs the Sun and the Times newspapers in the UK, the Australian newspaper, and the book publisher HarperCollins. Its television businesses include 20th Century Fox, Fox broadcast network and Fox News Channel, besides BSkyB.