News Corp to reveal paid content strategy

• By Jordan Chong
• From: AAP
• May 05, 2010 2:56PM

NEWS Corporation chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch says he will shortly announce how the global media company will charge for its online content.

Mr Murdoch said that the company was in final discussions with a number of publishers, device makers and technology companies.

"We will soon develop an innovative subscription model that will deliver digital content to consumers wherever and whenever they want it,'' Mr Murdoch said during a conference call after News Corporation (the parent company of the publisher of news.com.au) announced third quarter results.

"We'll be giving a press conference in about three to four weeks, which we will hope will have some important announcements on that.''

Mr Murdoch flagged that the charging model would also include access to television shows and films via video on demand.

News Corp had set a target of June this year to erect a pay wall around the company's global mastheads, starting with London's The Times newspaper.

The company also owns local newspapers such as The Australian, The Herald Sun and The Daily Telegraph.
Other newspapers in News Corp's global stable include the New York Post and the UK's The Sun.

News Corp also owns the The Wall Street Journal, which charges users for some online content and has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the US.

The Journal's website, WSJ.com, has more than one million paid subscribers.

Mr Murdoch said advertising was up 11 per cent at WSJ.com, and about 64,000 users had signed up to The Journal's iPad application.

"These new digital devices are entirely dependent on the flow of high quality content, the business we are in,'' Mr Murdoch said.

The picture was not as rosy at News Corp's social networking site MySpace, which continued to lose money.

But Mr Murdoch said signs were positive for the period ahead, describing MySpace as having become the "leading music site''.

"We've got to admit that over the last two or three years I think we've made some big mistakes, but we've got a fine new management now,'' Mr Murdoch said.

"The early indications, and they are only early indications, are that we're getting more visitors and they are staying longer.

"When that gets more substantial we will get more advertising.''

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