News Corp - A Media Empire Under Pressure

Synopsis

The News of the World scandal will have far reaching consequences and long lasting effects on different aspects of our society. It will also impact upon the newspaper publishing and media reporting sector as a whole. With many newspapers in trouble as more and more people abandon the printed newspapers, publishers are desperately trying to survive.

This report provides insights into News Corp and analyses the wider implications of the recent scandal. It provides information on BSkyB, which News Corp has withdrawn from purchasing at this time and explores Rupert Murdoch’s attitude to online news and the failed attempt of MySpace. The report also includes News Corp financial and company information for year-end June 2011, prepared by Indigo Equity Research.

Key developments:

News Corp is facing immense pressure after discovery of unethical news gathering; News Corp’s bid for BSkyB has been impacted upon; other fall-outs may well occur; this development will impact upon newspaper industry as a whole.

Companies covered in this report:

News Corp; BSkyB

Financial information includes:

BSkyB annualised ARPU; BSkyB revenue and operating profit; a report providing News Corp financial information prepared by Indigo Equity Research.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Murdoch's problems and the wider implications for our society
  • 2.1 Wikileaks
• 3. BSkyB insights
  • 3.1 BSkyB in the voice market
• 4. Brief overview: News Corp in Australia
  • 4.1 Ringtones
  • 4.2 Mobizzo
  • 4.3 Fox movies
• 5. News Corp and industry analysis
  • 5.1 The future of mass media news
    • 5.1.1 People Power versus Murdoch
    • 5.1.2 Sharp decline in mass media usage
    • 5.1.3 Manipulating politics to increase revenues
    • 5.1.4 Sensations sell
    • 5.1.5 Perfect storm
    • 5.1.6 The buck stops with Rupert
    • 5.1.7 Politicians also have something to answer for
    • 5.1.8 The power of the internet
  • 5.2 News Corp’s attempt to block free online news
  • 5.3 A failed online attempt - MySpace
  • 5.4 Newspaper publishers and the online threat
    • 5.4.1 Print News versus internet in the OECD
    • 5.4.2 The rise of online news paywalls
• 6. Related reports

• Table 1 – BSkyB subscriber statistics – 2006 - 2010
• Table 2 – BSkyB voice customers – 2006 - 2011
• Table 3 – The demise of MySpace - Facebook versus MySpace by unique monthly users – 2009 - 2010
• Table 4 – Most popular formats for receiving news in the USA – 2010

• Chart 1 – BSkyB annualised ARPU – 2005 - 2010
• Chart 2 – BSkyB revenue, operating profit and annual change – 2007 - 2010

• Exhibit 1 – Journalism Online