News Corp.

The New York Times Gets a British Accent

America's flagship newspaper reaches across the pond for a chief executive who can engineer its turnaround. Will the former head of the BBC be able to make the Timesturn a profit?

MySpace Markdown: Social Site on Sale for 94% Off

Back in July 2005, the deal seemed so promising. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp bought MySpace parent Intermix Media for $580 million. The social media pioneer was, by some measures, the fifth most-visited website in the U.S. This week, MySpace was sold for a fraction of that amount.

Apple Expands Subscription-Billing Service

Apple is broadening the content subscription-billing service it started earlier the month with News Corp.'s The Daily electronic newspaper to other magazines, newspapers, video providers and other content sources, as the company looks to further benefit from the growing contingent of people getting their news on portable devices.

The Most Popular Social Network: Facebook

Facebook has won the most customer loyalty, by far, out of all social media sites, according to the latest Brand Keys's Customer Loyalty Index. The network easily outperformed News Corp.'s MySpace, Twitter and others.

News Corp. Launches Newspaper for Tablet Computers

News Corp. has launched The Daily, a newspaper specifically designed for the Apple iPad and other tablet computers. The e-paper's premier edition has attracted kudos for visuals, but mixed reviews on content. The burning question: Will it attract paying readers?

Will News Corp. Sell MySpace?

News Corp. more than doubled its earnings for the fiscal second quarter, the company announced Wednesday. Part of the gain comes from a settlement charge a year earlier, which dampened year-ago earnings on a one-time basis. The company also is considering selling MySpace.

New York Times's Web Subscriptions Won't Break the Bank

Wondering how much it will cost to read stories on The New York Times's website once the newspaper sets up its long-anticipated pay wall? While a final price hasn't been set yet, unidentified sources told Bloomberg News that it'll come to less than $20 per month.

Is News Corp About to Unfriend Money-Losing MySpace?

Social networking pioneer MySpace could find itself going solo again soon. Its owner, News Corp, is considering a potential sale or spin-off of the social network as it looks for a way to stem the tens of millions of dollars in losses it's taking from the unit, according to a Bloomberg report.

That's a Wrap: Miramax Films Sale Finally Closes

After months of delays, the deal is done: An investment group called Filmyard Holdings is the proud new owner of the storied Miramax Films. The sale was announced back in June, but concerns about bank financing pushed the closing date back until now.

MySpace Launches 'Mashup' Feature With Facebook

In the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" department, MySpace launched a feature that lets users import interests from their Facebook profiles to give MySpace pages a broader stream of entertainment content.

Hulu Drops Price on Subscriptions After Traffic Dips

Hulu lowered the price of its newly launched Hulu Plus subscription service by $2 to $7.99 Wednesday, just days after the online streaming video service saw its rank decline on a closely watched Internet ranking service for the month of October.

Fox Blocks Its Shows From Google TV Web Viewing

After resolving its differences with Cablevision and Dish, News Corp.'s Fox has now blocked Web access to its shows from Google TV. Owners of televisions equipped with the Google TV service will still be able to watch regular Fox television on their sets, but won't be able to use it to view Fox shows on the Web.

How Much Longer Will
The Simpsons Last?

Like Lassie and the Brady Bunch, it seems like the Simpsons family has always been with us. And now Fox has made sure America's favorite dysfunctional animated family will stick around for another year. But as the show sheds viewers, how much longer can it remain on the air?

Amazon.com Offers More Money for News on Kindle

Amazon.com says it will pay more for newspapers and magazines on its Kindle e-book reader. It will now pay publishers 70% of retail price, up from paying about one-third of the retail fee for The Wall Street Journal last December. Will more content help Kindle compete with the iPad?

News Corp. Buries HarperCollins' Earnings

Why did News Corp. bury the earnings of its book publishing unit HarperCollins? Does the media giant view the publisher as merely an afterthought -- or could Rupert Murdoch be contemplating a sale?

Fox Channels Go Dark on Cablevision: Baseball Playoff Broadcasts at Risk

News Corp.'s Fox has pulled its channels off Cablevision after a programming deal expired at midnight Saturday. The move means 3 million viewers in Philadelphia and New York could miss the first game in the National League Championship Series between the Phillies and the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.

Parker Spitzer: Low Ratings, Scathing Reviews

CNN's great 8PM hope, Parker Spitzer, garnered lackluster ratings in its debut Monday night, trailing Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and CNN's own sister network HLN. Television critics, meanwhile, savaged the program.

Yes, Tablet Users Really Are Reading More

Publishers talk about the iPad, Kindle and other tablets as their salvation. New consumer research suggests that view may be well-grounded: Tablet users are devouring more content -- and are reconciled to paying.

How The Wall Street Journal Sounds Like Fox News

If you have any doubt that The Wall Street Journal is fast becoming steeped in the corporate culture of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., check these quotations. Like Fox News, it declares victory (prematurely) and expresses contempt for rivals.

Now Appearing on Facebook: MySpace Posts

Is MySpace friending Facebook? The social network, which has changed its appearance to look more like Facebook, is also cozying up to its rival in another way: Its users can now sync their MySpace posts to Facebook.