A New Group

Runing head: NEWS CORP IN 2004пјљTHE DIRECT TV ACQUISITION AND BEYOND

Contents

1. Landmarks of News Crop’s Acquisitions

2. What are the elements of News Corp’s diversification strategy? What is your opinion about News Corp strategy?

Multinational Diversification & attractiveness

Skill transfer

Greater bargaining power

Backed by Cash flows

My opinions about News Corp’s strategy: Everything focus on profit

3. What cross-business strategic fits do you see at News Corp?

4. Which are News Corp’s three most profitable and three most unprofitable businesses in 2003 based on the data in the case? Explain.

1. Landmarks of News Crop’s Acquisitions

1960s News of the World (The United Kingdom)

Daily Herald (The United Kingdom)

Sun (The United Kingdom)

1970s Express (The United State)

News of Texas (The United State)

New York Post (The United State)

1980s Times and the Sunday Times (The United Kingdom)

Twentieth Century Fox and Fox TV (The United State)

Sky Television (a pan-European channel)

1990s Star TV (Asia)

British Sky Broadcasting (BskyBt, The United Kingdom)

2004 Direct TV (The United State)

2005 MySpace (The United State)

2007 The wall street Journal (The United State)

Source: News Corp in 2004; and www.nytimes.com

In the past four years, Rupert Murdoch continuously expand his global media empire, the News Corportation, by straightforward acquisitions. After buliding a chain of newpaper and magazine propeties in Australia in the 1950s and �60s, Mr Murdoch expanded first to the United Kingdom and then to the United Sates. From newspapers, he moved into the world of television, and then into the internet with the stunning $580 million purchase of Myspace.com, a social network used by 33 million young people. To me, the biggest coup of Mr. Murdoch was the wresting of the control of Dow Jones and Company—and its chief prize, The Wall Street Joural.

2. What are the elements of News Corp’s diversification strategy? What is your opinion about News Corp strategy?

Multinational Diversification & attractiveness

If we review News Corp’s growing history in the past 5 decades, the strategy of mutinational diversification will jump into our line of sight first. News Crop’s empire spans the USA, Europe, Australia and the East Asia with bussiness in newspaper, satellite, cable news, movies and network. It servers over 30 million gloable customers through its subsidiary companies day and night. News Crop’s multinational diversification strategy also aims at those attractive industries. According to its 2003 annual report, its revenue in the Television segment increased from $ 4,274 million in 2002 to $ 4,763 millions in 2003, a net gain of 489 millions in one year.1 Its acquisition fo Myspace.com is another good example of how News Corp increase its attractiveness by selective diversifications.

Skill transfer

The other significant element of News Crop diversification strategy is based on skill transfer. They have the ability to transfer their vision and competitively valuable expertise, technological know-how from one business to another. After acquisition of a new business, News Crops has the ability to restructure this business by its own style and make it competitive and profitable.

Greater bargaining power

Successful