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News Corporation
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 1211 Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue), where News Corporation is based (often abbreviated to News Corp.) is the world's second largest media conglomerate (behind The Walt Disney Company) as of 2008 and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009 . The company's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder is Rupert Murdoch. News Corporation is a publicly-traded company listed on the Nasdaq and the Australian Securities Exchange and as a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange. Formerly incorporated in South Australia, the company was re-incorporated into Delaware General Corporation Law after a majority of shareholders approved the move on 12 November 2004. News Corporation's headquarters is at 1211 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Ave.), in New York City, in the newer 1960s-1970s corridor of the Rockefeller Center complex. Revenue for the year ended 30 June 2008 was US$32.996 billion with an operating income of US$5.381 billion. Almost 70% of the company's sales come from its US businesses. On 16 January 2009 the Government Accountability Office reported that News Corp has 152 subsidiaries in low-tax or no-tax countries, one of four companies to have more than 100. [, Bloomberg.com, 2009-01-16]HistoryNews Corp was created in 1980 by Rupert Murdoch as a holding company for News Limited. News Limited was created by Murdoch from the assets he inherited in 1952 following the death of his father, Sir Keith Murdoch, and subsequent expansion. The main asset left to him was ownership of the Adelaide afternoon tabloid, The News. In 1986 and 1987, News Corp (through subsidiary News International) moved to adjust the production process of its British newspapers, over which the printing unions had long maintained a highly restrictive grip. [, TIME magazine, 1996-08-21.] A number of senior Australian media moguls were brought into Murdoch's powerhouse, including John Dux, who was managing director of the South China Morning Post. This led to a confrontation with the printing unions NGA and SOGAT. The move of News International's London operation to Wapping in the East End resulted in nightly battles outside the new plant. Delivery vans and depots were frequently and violently attacked. [ Ultimately the unions capitulated.]Moving into the United StatesNews Corp made its first acquisition in the United States in 1973, when it purchased the San Antonio Express-News. Soon afterwards it founded the National Star, a supermarket tabloid, and in 1976 it purchased the New York Post. In 1981 News Corp bought half of the movie studio 20th Century Fox, buying the other half in 1984. In 1985 News Corp announced it was buying the Metromedia group of stations, setting the stage for the launch of a fourth U.S. broadcast network. On 4 September 1985, Murdoch became a naturalised citizen to satisfy the legal requirement that only United States citizens could own American television stations. In 1986, the Metromedia deal closed, and the Fox Broadcasting Company was launched. This network, known on-screen as "Fox", can now be picked up in over 96% of U.S. households.
In 1987 News Corp bought The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd in Australia, the company that Rupert Murdoch's father had once managed. By 1992, News Corp had amassed huge debts, which forced it to sell many of the American magazine interests it had acquired in the mid-1980s. Much of this debt came from its stake in the Sky Television satellite network in the UK, which incurred massive losses in its early years of operation, which (like many of its business interests) was heavily subsidised with profits from its other holdings until it was able to force rival satellite operator British Satellite Broadcasting to accept a merger on its terms in 1990. (The merged company, BSkyB has dominated the British pay-TV market since.)
In 1993 News Corp acquired a 63.6% stake of the Hong Kong-based STAR TV satellite network for over $500 million, followed by the purchase of the remaining 36.4% in July 1995. Murdoch declared that:
In 1995, the Fox network became the object of scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) when it was alleged that its Australian base made Murdoch's ownership of Fox illegal. The FCC, however, ruled in Murdoch's favor, stating that his ownership of Fox was in the public's best interests. It was also noted that the stations themselves were owned by a separate company whose chief shareholder was U.S. citizen Murdoch, although nearly all of the stations' equity was controlled by News Corp. In the same year News Corp announced a deal with MCI Communications to develop a major news website as well as funding a conservative news magazine, The Weekly Standard. In the same year, News Corp launched the Foxtel pay television network in Australia in a partnership with Telstra and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited.
In 1996, Fox established the Fox News Channel, a 24-hour cable news station to compete against Ted Turner's rival channel CNN.
In 1999, News Corp significantly expanded its music holdings in Australia by acquiring the controlling share in a leading Australian based label, Michael Gudinski's Mushroom Records; merging it with already held Festival Records to create Festival Mushroom Records (FMR). Both Festival and FMR were managed by Rupert Murdoch's son James Murdoch for several years.
In late 2003, News Corp acquired a 34% stake in DirecTV Group, (formerly: Hughes Electronics), from General Motors for Electronics, operator of the largest American satellite TV system, for US$6 billion. DirecTV Group sold in 2008 to Liberty Media's Malone, in exchange to his News shares.
In 2007 News Corporation reached an agreement to purchase Dow Jones, publishers of the Wall Street Journal, for an estimated $5.6 billion. On 15 October 2007 the corporation spun off a business news channel from Fox News - Fox Business Network. The channel's lawyers were "reviewing all of the fine details of the contract" between Dow Jones and CNBC, said Alexis Glick, Fox Business Network's vice president of business news and the channel's morning anchor. But, she added, "we will actively use" the other Dow Jones properties. "...this new channel is a bit tedious. Somehow, business is more interesting when treated in a business-like way", commented Rob Carrick in 16 October's Toronto Globe and Mail. On 8 February 2007, Murdoch promised guests at the McGraw-Hill Media Summit that, "a Fox channel would be more business-friendly than CNBC. That channel leap[s] on every scandal, or what they think is a scandal", he said.Shareholders- In August 2005 the Murdoch family owned only about 29% of the company. However, nearly all of these shares were voting shares, and Rupert Murdoch retained effective control of the company. Nonetheless, John Malone of Liberty Media had built up a large stake, with about half of the shares being voting shares. Therefore, in November 2006, News Corporation announced its intention to transfer its 38.5 per cent managing interest in DirecTV Group to John Malone's Liberty Media; in return it bought back Liberty's 16.3% shares in News Corp., giving Murdoch tighter control of the latter firm. Murdoch sold 17.5 million class A shares in December 2007.
- Years after when Elektra Records was absorbed in 2004, News Corporation owned half of the re-issues from the record label company.
Corporate governanceThe company's Board of Directors consists of 15 individuals:
- Chase Carey (President, Chief Operating Officer & Deputy Chairman)
Office of the chairman- Chase Carey (President, Chief Operating Officer & Deputy Chairman)
- Roger Ailes (Chairman of Fox Television Stations Group)
HoldingsBooks- *Youth Specialties - organisation helping youth workers worldwide through training seminars and conventions, resources and the internet.
- *Inspirio - religious gift production.
Newspapers- Australia published by News Limited.
- *Community Media Group (16 QLD & NSW suburban/regional titles)
- *Cumberland-Courier Newspapers (26 suburban/commuter titles)
- *The Townsville Bulletin (Townsville, Queensland)
- *Leader Newspapers (33 suburban Melbourne, VIC titles)
- *MX (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane CBD)
- *Quest Newspapers (19 suburban Brisbane, QLD titles)
- *News Group Newspapers Ltd.
- US newspapers and magazines
- ***Wall Street Journal Europe
- ***Wall Street Journal Asia
- ***Barron's - weekly financial markets magazine.
- ***Marketwatch - Financial news and information website.
- ***Far Eastern Economic Review
- ***Factiva - provides business news and information together with content delivery tools and services.
- ***Dow Jones Financial Information Services - produces databases, electronic media, newsletters, conferences, directories, and other information services on specialised markets and industry sectors.
- ***Betten Financial News - leading Dutch language financial and economic news service.
- ***Ottoway Community Newspapers - 8 daily and 15 weekly regional newspapers.
- **STOXX (33%)- joint venture with Deutsche Boerse and SWG Group for the development and distribution of Dow Jones STOXX indices.
- *The Timesledger Newspapers of Queens, New York:
- **Bayside Times, Whitestone Times, Flushing Times, Fresh Meadows Times, Little Neck Ledger, Jackson Heights Times, Richmond Hill Times, Jamaica Times, Laurelton Times, Queens Village Times, Astoria Times, Forest Hills Ledger, Ridgewood Ledger, Howard Beach Times
- *The Courier-Life Newspapers in Brooklyn
Magazines- *Australian Country Style
- *Vogue Entertaining & Travel
Music and radioIndia- Radio City(20%, held through STAR TV) - commercial FM network with stations in 20 cities.
RussiaSportStudios- Fox Television Studios International
- *Natural History New Zealand - natural world documentaries, non-fiction programming.
- Fox Atomic - produces theatrical films, comics, and digital content targeting the 17-24 year olds. Aiming to produce/acquire eight films per year over a range of genres, specifically action and horror
- Fox Faith - Promotion and distribution of Christian and related "family friendly" movies on DVD and some theatrical release.
TVNews Corp agreed to sell eight of its television stations to Oak Hill Capital Partners for approximately $1.1 billion as of 22 December 2007. The stations are US Fox affiliates.Broadcast- ITV plc (17.5%), a British broadcast television network and the UK's largest advertising revenue based broadcaster via BSkyB, although a recent legal decision will require this stake to be cut.
- *B1 TV (12,5%), a broadcast television network in Romania, in partnership with Ismar International NVkkkk
- *Fox Turkey, a Turkish terrestrial channel (56,5%) (formerly TGRT)
- *Israel 10 (9%), a terrestrial channel in Israel.
- *LNT (100%), a terrestrial channel in Latvia
- *TV5 Riga (100%), a terrestrial channel in Latvia
- ANTV (20%), a private television station in Indonesia, under the administration and label of STAR TV
Satellite television- BSkyB, United Kingdom (39.1% holding).
- STAR TV, an Asian satellite TV service having 300 million viewers in 53 countries (it acquired Vijay TV and Asianet, two prominent south indian networks)
- Phoenix Television (17.6%), satellite TV network with landing rights in Hong Kong, and select provinces on Mainland China
CableCable channels owned (in whole or part) and operated by News Corporation include:
- Fox College Sports, a college sports network consisting of three regionally-aligned channels, mostly with archived Fox Sports Net programs but also some live and original content.
- *Fox Sports Middle East - English language sports network airing in Middle East countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE & Yemen.
- *Fox Pan American Sports (37.9%) - joint venture with Hicks, Muse, and Tate & Furst.
- FX Networks, a cable network broadcasting reruns of programming previously shown on other channels, but recently creating its own programming, including the Emmy Award-winning programs The Shield and Damages.
- National Geographic Channel International 75%
- Fox International Channels, domestic cable channels offering different formats of Fox programming in over thirty countries worldwide.
- *Fox Toma 1 - Spanish language television production.
- *Utarget.Fox - European and Latin American online ad company, plus now handles TV ad sales.
- *Fox Latin American Channels - channels available in over 17 countries in Latin America
- **Canal National Geographic Channel
- **Fox One-Stop Media - advertising sales for company owned and third party channels in Latin America
- *LAPTV (22.5%) (Latin American Pay Television) operates 8 cable movie channels throughout South America excluding Brazil.
- *Telecine(12.5%) operates 5 cable movie channels in Brazil.
PLATFORMS- *Hathway Cable & Datacom (22.2%), India's 2nd largest cable network through 7 cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai & Pune
- *Total TV (20%), Pay TV platform with JV partner KOO's Group majority owner (80%). News Corp also has a 20% interest in the KOO's Group directly
Internet- *Foxsports.com - website with sports news, scores, statistics, video and fantasy sports
- *MySpace - Social networking website, general interest website acquired through purchase from Intermix Media
- * MySpace TV, a video site which will host amateur videos, contents from net and studios that competes with Google's YouTube
- *Beliefnet - Largest online faith and spirituality network.
- *Flektor - provides Web-based tools for photo and video editing and mashups.
- *Slingshot Labs - web development incubator (Includes the sites DailyFill).
- *Strategic Data Corp - interactive advertising company which develops technology to deliver targeted internet advertising.
- *WhatIfSports.com - sports simulation and prediction website. Also provides fantasy-style sports games to play.
- - 'India's no. 1 Entertainment Portal'
- ROO Group Inc (5% increasing to 10% with performance targets)
- * - Australian-oriented news website
- *Netus (75%) - investment co. in online properties.
- * (69.4%), Sky Italia also holds a 30.6% share
- *atHome group, operator of leading realestate websites in Luxembourg, France, Belgium and Germany.
- **Altowin (51%),provider of office management tools for realestate agents in Belgium.
- * (50%), News International holds the remaining 50%
- **Sherlock Publications, owner of hotproperty.co.uk portal and magazine titles 'Hot Property', 'Renting' and 'Overseas'
- **ukpropertyshop.co.uk, most comprehensive UK estate agent directory.
- *PropertyLook, property websites in Australia and New Zealand.
- *, home renovation and improvement website.
- *Square Foot Limited, Hong Kong's largest English Language property magazine and website
- **Primedia - Holding co. of Inside DB, a Hong Kong lifestyle magazine.
Other assets- NDS - Conditional access technology and personal digital video recorders (PVRs) (49%)
- *ITE, publisher of Playstation and Mobile games, and interactive television
- Broadsystem Ltd (UK) - Telephony provider for media companies, bought in 1991
- Broadsystem Ventures (UK) - provider of cheap-rate telephone calls, particularly for customers of Sky Television. Bought outright in 1999.
- Jamba! - Mobile Entertainment/Mobile Handsets Personalisation/Games.
- News Outdoor Group - Largest outdoor advertising company in Eastern Europe with over 70,000 ads including billboards and bus shelters, operating in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Israel, Poland, Romania, Russia (96 cities), Turkey & Ukraine.
- *Mosgorreklama (50%) - Russia sign and marketing material manufacturer
- *Kamera Acikhava Reklamclik (?) - leading outdoor advertising company in Turkey
- Fox Sports Skybox (70%) - Sports fan's Bar & Grill at Staples Center and 6 airport restaurants.
- News America Marketing (US) - (100%) - nation’s leading marketing services company, products include a portfolio of in-store, home-delivered and online media under the SmartSource brand.
Annual conferenceNews Corporation organises an annual management conference, discussing media issues related to geopolitics. Attendees include News Corporation executives, senior journalists, Politicians and Celebrities. Previous events were in Cancun, Mexico, and the Hayman Island off the coast of Australia. The events are private and secretive, there are no records available for the agenda or talks given at the conferences, and no uninvited journalists are permitted access.
The 2006 event in Pebble Beach, California was led by Rupert Murdoch. According to a copy of the agenda leaked to the Los Angeles Times and other media accounts,See also
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