News Corp (NYSE: NWS). is closing in on Premiere. The German pay-TV group announced today that News Corp. CFO for Europe and Asia, Mark Williams, was stepping into the CEO role following the resignation of its former head Michael Börnicke yesterday. The move comes just eight months after News Corp Europe and Asia began building up a stake in the station, now a 25.1 percent share. Börnicke, who had been at the job little over a year, said he was quitting “for personal reasons,” though German press has speculated that Bornicke has been booted after News Corp had grown “impatient” with management.

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Meanwhile, an unnamed source told the FT.com that the Williams hire is an “interim appointment,” and that his goal is to “turn the ship in the right direction,” for a year, and then decide whether or not to continue in the role. Earlier this week, News Corp COO Peter Chernin said the company was looking into increasing its stake, but that no immediate moves were planned.