Doug Murphy has been promoted to president of Corus Television, taking over from one of Canada’s most affable and effective media conglom execs, Paul Robertson, who now takes the reins at Shaw Communications.

Murphy, who comes from the cable and animation wings of Corus – which is also controlled by Shaw, was tapped for the position on Monday just as word got out that his predecessor had signed on with Calgary’s expansionist cable company to oversee its newly-acquired TV empire.

Robertson, a former ad man, is now group VP of broadcasting and president of Shaw Global, putting him atop the properties Shaw is now set to acquire outright from Canwest and Goldman Sachs. His new boss, SVP of operations Brad Shaw, announced the appointment Monday morning during a conference call with investors.

‘Paul knows Shaw, he knows how we operate, he’s a down-to-earth guy, he has a willingness to build strong relationships and his complete understanding of the broadcasting industry make him a great fit,’ said Shaw. ‘There was no doubt that Paul was our guy.’ He starts May 17.

Murphy, meanwhile, took over his old Corus job on Monday – heading properties including YTV, Treehouse, W Network, Movie Central and Nelvana.

‘Doug is an outstanding executive with a proven track record for building strong teams and great brands. Since joining Corus he has consistently delivered superior business results,’ said Corus CEO John Cassaday in a release, adding that Robertson ‘assembled a stellar team and a powerhouse portfolio of brands which will grow and prosper under Doug’s leadership.’

From Playback Daily, with files from Media in Canada