 Logo used from 1980 to 2013 | |
 1211 Avenue of the Americas, the headquarters of News Corporation | |
| Formerly | News Corporation Limited (1980–2004) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Nasdaq: NWSA (Class A) Nasdaq: NWS (Class B) ASX: NWSLV (Class A) ASX: NWS (Class B) | |
| Industry | Mass media |
| Predecessor | TCF Holdings |
| Founded |
|
| Founder | Rupert Murdoch |
| Defunct | 28 June 2013; 11 years ago (2013-6-28) |
| Fate | Split into21st Century Fox andNews Corp; the former shut down in 2019 and was replaced withFox Corporation |
| Successors | |
| Headquarters | 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, New York ,U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
| Products | Cable network programming,Filmed entertainment,Television,direct-broadcast satellite television,Publishing, and other |
| Owner | Murdoch family (39% voting power) |
| Divisions | Fox Entertainment Group Fox Networks Group |
| Subsidiaries | To see most of the company's subsidiaries, see: |
| Website | newscorp.com at theWayback Machine (archived June 24, 2013) |
The original incarnation ofNews Corporation (abbreviatedNews Corp. and also variously known asNews Corporation Limited) was an Americanmultinationalmass media corporation controlled by media mogulRupert Murdoch and headquartered at1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Prior to its split in 2013, it was the world's largest media company in terms of total assets and the world's fourth largest media group in terms of revenue. It had become a media powerhouse since its inception, dominating the news, television, film, and print industries.[3][4][5][6][7]
Formerly incorporated inAdelaide,South Australia, the company was re-incorporated underDelaware General Corporation Law after a majority of shareholders approved the move on November 12, 2004. News Corporation was headquartered at1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, in the newer 1960s–1970s corridor of theRockefeller Center complex.
On June 28, 2012, after concerns from shareholders in response to itsrecent controversies and to "unlock even greater long-term shareholder value", founderRupert Murdoch announced that News Corporation's assets would be restructured into two publicly traded companies,[8] one oriented towards media, and the other towards publishing. The formal split was completed on June 28, 2013; the original News Corp. was renamed21st Century Fox and consisted primarily of media outlets, whilethe second News Corporation was formed to take on the publishing and Australian broadcasting assets.Fox Corporation became the successor to 21st Century Fox in 2019 after Disneyacquired majority of the latter's assets; it holds News Corporation's television broadcasting, news, and sports assets.
Its major holdings at the time of the split wereNews Limited (a group of newspaper publishers in Murdoch's native Australia),News International (a newspaper publisher in the United Kingdom, whose properties includeThe Times,The Sun, and the now-defunctNews of the World (the subject of aphone hacking scandal that led to its closure in July 2011),Dow Jones & Company (an American publisher of financial news outlets, includingThe Wall Street Journal), the book publisherHarperCollins, and theFox Entertainment Group (the holding for the20th Century Fox Film Corporation and theFox Broadcasting Company).
News Corp was established in 1980 byRupert Murdoch as aholding company forNews Limited. News Limited was founded in 1923 inAdelaide byJames Edward Davidson, funded by the Collins House mining empire for the purpose of publishing anti-union propaganda;[9][10] subsequently the controlling interest was bought by theHerald & Weekly Times. In 1949,Keith Murdoch took control of Adelaide's afternoon tabloidThe News. When he died in 1952, his son Rupert inherited a controlling interest inThe News. News Limited operates today as News Corporation's Australian brand and includes ownership ofThe Australian, operating out ofSurry Hills, inSydney.
News Ltd. made its first acquisition in the United States in 1973, when it purchased theSan Antonio Express and News (the two papers merged in 1984).[11] Soon afterwards it founded theNational Star, asupermarket tabloid, and in 1976 it purchased theNew York Post fromDorothy Schiff for $31 million.[12]
In 1984, News Corp acquired theChicago Sun-Times fromField Enterprises (later sold in 1986 to theAmerican Publishing Company subsidiary of Canada-basedHollinger) for $90 million andTravel Weekly and other trade magazines fromZiff Davis.[13][14] In March 1985, News Corp bought a 50% stake in TCF Holdings, the holding company of the movie studio20th Century Fox from Marc Rich for $162 million, and later acquired the remaining stake fromMarvin Davis in September for $325 million.[15][16][17][18][19][20]
Two months after the acquisition of the 50% stake in TCF Holdings, on May 6, 1985, News Corp announced it was buying theMetromedia television stations and its syndication arm Metromedia Producers Corporation fromJohn Kluge for $3.5 billion, setting the stage for the launch of a fourth U.S.commercial broadcasting television network.[21][22] On September 4, 1985, Murdoch became anaturalized citizen to satisfy the legal requirement that only United States citizens could own American television stations.[23] In 1986, the Metromedia deal was completed, and theFox Broadcasting Company, simply known as Fox, launched on October 9, withJoan Rivers'The Late Show as its late-night program, it would later air prime-time programming starting in April 1987.
In 1986 and 1987, News Corp (through subsidiaryNews International) moved to adjust the production process of its British newspapers, over which the printing unions had long dominated.[24] A number of senior Australian media moguls were brought into Murdoch's powerhouse, including John Dux, who was managing director of theSouth China Morning Post. This led to a confrontation with the printing unionsNational Graphical Association andSociety of Graphical and Allied Trades. The move of News International's London operation toWapping in theEast End resulted in nightly battles outside the new plant. Delivery vans and depots were frequently and violently attacked.[24] Ultimately the unions capitulated.[citation needed]
In 1987, News Corp acquired the book publisherHarper and Row for $300 million,[25][26] and later acquired the British book publisherWilliam Collins, Sons in 1989 for $721 million, who later merged with Harper to formHarperCollins that same year.[27][28][29]
In 1988, News Corp acquired the Philadelphia-basedTriangle Publications, publisher of the magazinesTV Guide,Seventeen, and theDaily Racing Form for $3 billion.[30] To raise money, the trade publications were sold toReed International.[31]
By 1992, News Corp had incurred large debts, which forced it to sell many of the American magazine interests it had acquired in the mid-1980s toK-III Communications, as well spinning off long-held Australian magazines interests asPacific Magazines. Much of this debt came from its stake in theSky 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[citation needed] rival satellite operatorBSB 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-basedSTAR TV satellite network fromPearson for over $500 million, followed by the purchase of the remaining 36.4% in July 1995.[32][33] Murdoch declared that:[34]
(Telecommunications) have proved an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere ... satellite broadcasting makes it possible for information-hungry residents of many closed societies to bypass state-controlled television channels.
In 1995, the Fox network became the object of scrutiny from theFederal 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 a U.S. citizen, Murdoch, although nearly all of the stations' equity was controlled by News Corp. In the same year, News Corporation announced a deal withMCI 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 theFoxtel pay television network in Australia in a partnership withTelstra andPublishing & Broadcasting Limited.
On July 17, 1996, News Corporation announced that it would acquire television production and broadcasting companyNew World Communications (who acquired a 20% stake in 1994 for $200 million), for $2.48 billion in stock and was completed on January 22, 1997.[35][36]
On October 7, 1996, the Fox Entertainment Group launched theFox News Channel, a 24-hourcable news network to compete againstTime Warner's rival channelCNN.[37]
In 1999, News Corporation significantly expanded its music holdings in Australia by acquiring the controlling share in a leading Australian-based label,Michael Gudinski'sMushroom Records, merging it with already heldFestival Records to create Festival Mushroom Records (FMR). Both Festival and FMR were managed by Rupert Murdoch's sonJames Murdoch for several years.
Also mid 1999,The Economist reported that News Corp paid comparatively lower taxes, and Newscorp Investments specifically had made £11.4 billion ($20.1 billion) in profits over the previous 11 years but had not paid net corporation tax. It also reported that after an examination of the available accounts, Newscorp could normally have been expected to pay corporate tax of approximately $350 million. The article explained that in practice, the corporation's complex structure, international scope, and use of offshoretax havens allowed News Corporation to pay minimal[clarification needed] taxes.[38][39]
In late 2003, News Corp acquired a 34% stake inHughes Electronics (nowDirecTV Group), operator of the largest American satellite TV system, fromGeneral Motors for US$6 billion.[40] DirecTV was sold toLiberty Media in 2008 in exchange for its stake in News Corporation.
In January 2005, shortly after reincorporation in the United States, News Corporation announced that it was buying outFox Entertainment Group.[41] The manoeuvre delisted Fox from theNew York Stock Exchange; Fox had traded on the NYSE under the tickerFOX.[42]
In 2004, Murdoch set aside $2 billion and handpicked a team of young executives to look at possible ways to use the Web as a distribution platform. That team was composed of four rising stars: Ross Levinsohn, Adam Bain,Travis Katz, and Michael Kirby. The four became the backbone of what would become News Corp's digital division, Fox Interactive Media.[43]
Shortly after, in July 2005, News Corporation purchased the social networking websiteMyspace for $580 million.[44][45] News Corporation had beat outViacom by offering a higher price for the website,[46] and the purchase was seen as a good investment at the time.[46] Of the $580 million purchase price, approximately $327 million has been attributed to the value of Myspace according to the financial adviserfairness opinion.[47] Within a year, Myspace had tripled in value from its purchase price.[46]
In February 2007, Murdoch announced at the McGraw-Hill Media Summit that the Fox Entertainment Group would launch a new business news channel later in the year, which would compete directly against rival networkCNBC. Murdoch explained that the channel would be more "business-friendly" than CNBC, because he felt that they "leap on every scandal, or what they think is a scandal."[48] In July 2007, News Corp. reached a deal to acquireDow Jones & Company, owners ofThe Wall Street Journal, for $5 billion.[8][49] Despite CNBC already having a contract with Dow Jones to provide content and services to the network, the Fox Entertainment Group officially launched theFox Business Network on October 15, 2007. Alexis Glick, the network's original morning show host and vice president of business news, indicated that its lawyers had reviewed the details of Dow Jones' contract with CNBC, but noted that it would still "actively use" other Dow Jones properties.[50][51]
On December 16, 2008, News Corporation announced that it would transfer its US shares from the NYSE to theNASDAQ which was made effective two weeks later.[52] In September 2009, News Corp established NewsCore, a global wire service set up to provide news stories to all of News Corp's journalistic outlets.[53]
In April 2010, News Corporation sold Bulgarian broadcasterbTV, which it launched on 1 June 2000, as part of a deal toCentral European Media Enterprises (CME) for $400 million in addition to another $13 million for working capital adjustment. The deal included cable channelsbTV Comedy andBtv Cinema and News Corporation's 74% stake in Radio Company CJ which included five radio stations.[54]
In September 2010, due to the Fijian government's requirement that the country's media outlet must be 90% owned by Fiji Nationals, News Corporation sold 90% of their stake in their Fijian newspapers (Fiji Times,Nai Lalakai, andShanti Dut) to Motibhai Group of Companies.[55]
In November 2010, News Corp purchased education technology and student progress tracking companyWireless Generation for $360 million. The company was the NY City Education Department's partner for its School of One pilot program (nowTeach to One).[56]
In late February 2011, News Corp officially put the now-struggling Myspace up for sale, which was estimated to be worth $50–200 million.[57] Losses from the last quarter of 2010 were $156 million, over double of the previous year, which dragged down the otherwise strong results of parent News Corp. Its struggles were attributed to the growth of the competing social networkFacebook.[58][59] The deadline for bids, May 31, 2011, passed without any above the reserve price of $100 million being submitted.[60] The rapid deterioration in Myspace's business during the most recent quarter had deterred many potent suitors.[58] Later in June, Specific Media and pop singerJustin Timberlake bought the site for $35 million, which CNN reported noted was "far less than the $580 million News Corp. paid for Myspace in 2005."[61] Murdoch went on to call the Myspace purchase a "huge mistake".[62]
On July 13, 2011, Rupert Murdoch announced that the company would withdraw itstakeover bid forBSkyB due to concerns relating to theNews of the World scandal.[63] News Corporation already owned, and continues to own, 39.1% of BSkyB.
On June 6, 2012, News Corporation announced that it would buy outESPN Inc.'s stake inESPN Star Sports to gain full control over the Asia-Pacific sports network.[64] On November 20, 2012, News Corporation announced that it would acquire a 49% stake in theregional sports networkYES Network, owned by theMajor League Baseball teamNew York Yankees.[65][66][67] In January 2013, News Corp. attained 54.5% majority control ofSky Deutschland.[68]
On February 4, 2013, News Corporation announced the sale ofIGN and its related properties to the publishing companyZiff Davis. News Corp. had planned to spin off IGN as an independent company, but failed to do so.[69][70]
In July 2011, News Corp closed down theNews of the World newspaper in the United Kingdom due to allegations of phone hackings. The allegations include trying to access former Prime MinisterGordon Brown's voice mail, and obtain information from his bank accounts, family's medical records, and private legal files. Allegations of hacking have also been brought up in relation to former Prime MinisterTony Blair, and theRoyal Family.[71] Other allegations put out byThe Guardian newspaper include the exploitation, with intent to gain access to or use private information, of a list of 4,332 names or partial names, 2,987 mobile phone numbers, 30 audio tapes of varying length and 91 PIN codes, of a kind required to access the voicemail of the minority of targets who change the factory settings on their mobile phones.[72] The names are said to include those of British victims of September 11, 2001 terror attacks, family members of victims of the"7/7" bombings on London's transit system, family members of British troops killed overseas,Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old missing British schoolgirl who was later found dead in 2002, actorHugh Grant and a lawyer representing the family ofPrincess Diana's lover at the inquest into her death.[72] On July 13, 2011, News Corp withdrew its bid to purchase the final 61% stake inBSkyB after pressure from both the Labour and Conservative Parties in Parliament.[73]
Allegations about the violation of ethical standards by the News Corporation subsidiaryNews of the World have been speculatively applied to News Corporation holdings in the United States. Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) stated on July 12, 2011, that there should be a government investigation into News Corporation "to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated."[74] His statement was echoed on Wednesday[75] by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who specifically requested an investigation into 9/11 victims, as well as Sen.Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) who encouraged an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.[74] On July 13, 2011, RepresentativePeter King (R-NY) wrote a letter to the FBI requesting an investigation into News Corporation's ethical practices, and on July 14, the FBI opened a probe into the hacking of 9/11 victims.[76] Les Hinton, chief executive of the media group's Dow Jones, resigned on July 15, saying, "I have seen hundreds of news reports of both actual and alleged misconduct during the time I was executive chairman of News International and responsible for the company. The pain caused to innocent people is unimaginable. That I was ignorant of what apparently happened is irrelevant and in the circumstances I feel it is proper for me to resign from News Corp, and apologize to those hurt by the actions of the News of the World."[77]
In 2012, following a BBCPanorama report, allegations were made that News Corp subsidiaryNDS Group had used hackers to undermine pay TV rivals around the world. Some of the victims of the alleged hacking, such asAustar, were later taken over by News Corp and others such asOndigital later went bust. NDS had originally been set up to provide security to News Corp's pay TV interests but emails obtained byFairfax Media revealed they had also pursued a wider agenda by distributing the keys to rival set-top box operators and seeking to obtain phone records of suspected rivals.[78] The emails were from the hard drive of NDS European chief Ray Adams. In 2012, it was also revealed that Australian Federal police were working with UK police to investigate hacking by News Corp.[79]
On June 28, 2012, Rupert Murdoch announced that, after concerns from shareholders in response to the recent scandals and to "unlock even greater long-term shareholder value", News Corporation's assets would be restructured into two publicly traded companies, one oriented towards media, and the other towards publishing. News Corp's publishing operations werespun out into anew News Corporation withRobert James Thomson, editor ofThe Wall Street Journal, as CEO. The original News Corporation, which retained most of its media properties (such as theFox Entertainment Group and20th Century Fox) and Murdoch as CEO, was renamed21st Century Fox. Murdoch remained chairman for both companies.[80][81][82]
Shareholders approved the split on June 11, 2013. On June 19, 2013, preliminary trading for the new News Corporation on theAustralian Securities Exchange commenced in preparation for the formal split that was finalized on June 28, 2013. Shareholders received one share of new News Corp for every four shares they owned of the old News Corp. The two new companies began trading on theNasdaq on July 1, 2013.[83][84][85] In early 2014, 21st Century Fox entered talks for a possible merger withTime Warner before abandoning efforts on August 5, 2014.[86] In 2015, 21st Century Fox andNational Geographic Society formed a joint venture group to control National Geographic's media properties, with 21CF retaining a 73% stake in the company's media assets[87] In 2017, after months of speculation, Disney announced its intent to acquire 21st Century Fox. Comcast and Disney engaged in a contested bidding war to acquire the media conglomerate, but Comcast eventually rescinded efforts to acquire 21st Century Fox after 21CF agreed to Disney's US$71.3 billion offer.[88] With the acquisition set to complete by March 20, 2019, 21st Century Fox and Comcast engaged in a bidding war overSky. While Comcast was unsuccessful in outbidding Disney to acquire 21CF, it acquired Sky in 2018, and 21CF sold its shares to Comcast.[89] On March 19, 2019, the broadcasting, sports, and news assets of 21CF were spun off toFox Corporation, a separate company, on March 19, 2019, to avoid anti-trust issues for Disney. 21CF's remaining media assets was acquired by Disney on March 20, 2019, and assets with the "Fox" branding were renamed to avoid confusion with Fox Corporation. With Disney having acquired 21st Century Fox, News Corporation's direct successor ceased existence as an entity, and much of its former assets are now controlled by Disney, News. Corp, and Fox Corp. Attempts for a re-merger between News Corp and Fox Corp were explored in 2022. Had it been successful, News Corp and Fox would have been under the same corporate umbrella for the first time since 2013, but efforts were quickly abandoned in 2023.
The key trends for News Corporation are (as of the financial year ending June 30):[90]
| Revenue (US$ bn) | Net profit (US$ m) | Total assets (US$ bn)[91] | Employees (k)[92] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 8.1 | −740 | 14.5 | 26.0 |
| 2018 | 9.0 | −1,514 | 16.3 | 28.0 |
| 2019 | 10.0 | 155 | 15.7 | 28.0 |
| 2020 | 9.0 | −1,269 | 14.2 | 23.5 |
| 2021 | 9.3 | 330 | 16.7 | 24.0 |
| 2022 | 10.3 | 623 | 17.2 | 25.5 |
| 2023 | 9.8 | 149 | 16.9 | 25.0 |
| 2024 | 10.0 | 354 | 16.7 | 23.9 |
News Corporation organized an annual management conference, discussing media issues related togeopolitics. Attendees included News Corporation executives, senior journalists, politicians and celebrities. Previous events were inCancún, Mexico, and theHayman Island off the coast of Australia. The events were private and secretive, there are no records available for the agenda or talks given at the conferences, and no uninvited journalists are permitted access.[98]
The 2006 event inPebble Beach, California was led byRupert Murdoch. According to a copy of the agenda leaked to theLos Angeles Times and other media accounts,[99] issues discussed related from Europe to broadcasting andnew media, terrorism to thenational policy.[100] The event included speeches from Murdoch, Actor and former governor of CaliforniaArnold Schwarzenegger, former British Prime MinisterTony Blair,Bono,Al Gore, SenatorJohn McCain andBill Clinton while Israel's President,Shimon Peres, appeared on a panel named "Islam and the West". Other notable attendees includedNewt Gingrich andNicole Kidman.
The company's Board of Directors consisted of 17 individuals at the time of its break up:
In anticipation ofUS midterm elections, News Corporation donated $1 million to theRepublican Governors Association in June 2010. The move was criticized by Democrats, who said this was evidence of News Corporation's news outlets conservative leanings (seeFox News Channel controversies). TheDemocratic Governors Association also criticized the donation and demanded more transparency in the reporting by News Corporation companies. DGA head Nathan Daschle wrote to the chairman of News Corporation companyFox News,Roger Ailes: "In the interest of somefairness and balance, I request that you add a formaldisclaimer to your coverage any time any of your programs covers governors or gubernatorial races between now and election day."[101]
Around the same time, News Corporation also donated $1 million to theUnited States Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber aggressively supported the Republican effort to retake Congress in 2010.[102] This donation and an earlier $1 million contribution that News Corporation made to the Republican Governor's Association led media critics to question whether the company had crossed an ethical line for a media company.[102]
News Corporation split up to21st Century Fox andthe current incarnation of News Corporation on June 28, 2013. All media and broadcasting assets, except media assets owned byNews Limited, now belong toFox Corporation, the legal successor to News Corporation (and 21st Century Fox). Meanwhile, newspapers and other publishing assets, including media assets underNews Limited, werespun off and belong to News Corp.
News Corp agreed to sell eight of its television stations toOak Hill Capital Partners for approximately $1.1 billion as of December 22, 2007. The stations are USFox affiliates.[104] These stations, along with those already acquired by Oak Hill that were formerly owned byThe New York Times Company, formed the nucleus of Oak Hill'sLocal TV LLC division.
Cable TV channels owned (in whole or part) and operated by News Corporation include:
PLATFORMS
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