A great example of major corporations testing the waters of consumer dynamics and willingness to pay for online services that were once free. In-keeping with Mr (Rupert) Murdoch’s beliefs, I have only included that which can be viewed on the FT site, you can register for free or buy the Paper like I did.
Rupert Murdoch has vowed to charge for all the online content of his newspapers and television news channels, going well beyond his prediction in May that the company would test pay models on one of its stronger papers within the year.
The comments by News Corp’s chairman came as he predicted a “high single digit” rebound in the group’s operating profits next year. The worst of the media sector slump might be behind the company, he said, as he reported “some good signs of life” in advertising.
(Source) FT.com - You will have to register/log in to read the rest of the FT article.
Newspaper and television revenues would be down “very low double digits” next year, but growth in cable properties such as Fox News would leave advertising revenues flat and total revenue up 4 per cent.
“We intend to charge for all our news websites,” Mr Murdoch said.
Declines in revenue and profit across television and newspaper assets offset strong gains from cable networks businesses in the quarter, in which News Corp’s cash pile grew to $6.5bn.
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