news corp

An embattled News Corp. executive has stepped down following a phone-hacking scandal that has rocked the U.K. media world.

Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News Corp. newspaper unit News International, which also publishes The Times and The Sun, resigned this morning, saying that she no longer wants to be the "focal point of the debate" surrounding News Corp.

"As chief executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place," … Read more

The FBI has launched an inquiry into allegations that employees of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. tried to illegally hack the phones of September 11 victims.

An FBI spokesman told CNET in a phone conversation today that the agency "is aware of the allegations and we are looking into it."

Until earlier this week, the U.S. had remained out of the scandal in Britain surrounding News Corp. over cell phone hacking. However, the Daily Mail in the U.K. reported on Monday that News Corp.-owned News of the World, a British tabloid, had contacted a private … Read more

Hulu acquired more new customers in June than it did in the months of April and May combined, according to a blog post by CEO Jason Kilar.

Kilar wrote that 875,000 subscribers now pay for Hulu Plus and that the company anticipates surpassing 1 million paying subscribers before the end of summer.

"We've continued our quest to make Hulu Plus available on every Internet-connected device," Kilar wrote. "In the past 90 days, we have made Hulu Plus available on Xbox 360 and Kinect, select Android smartphones, TiVo Premiere DVRs, and select Samsung Blu-ray players. Collectively, this means an additional 25 million devices are capable of accessing the Hulu Plus service."

The public has seen a wave of breathless announcements and leaks about Hulu in recent weeks. First, Yahoo was said to have made an offer, and then it was Microsoft and Google and AOL. Then Hulu announced it had renewed licensing deals with some of its content partners--the same ones, as it happens, that also own a share of Hulu.

Hey, what do you know?

This is the public-relations equivalent of slapping a little Bondo on a clunker. Hulu certainly has a few dings and dents to pretty up. I have no doubts that Hulu has acquired those 875,000 subscribers, but so what? Kilar crows that company amassed that number only since November, when it officially launched. … Read more

It was just supposed to be a three-hour tour, um, quick sale process!

But, like a storm-tossed ship looking for any safe harbor, the MySpace sale is still chugging along, with a deal that continues to be tossed around among low-paying and new lesser-known buyers who are now in the $20 million to $30 million range, said sources close to the situation.

The price, said others, could go as high as $35 million, but it's far cry from the $100 million that News Corp. had been aiming for.

As part of the deal, sources said the News Corp. unit will be making significant cuts in staff and costs--up to 50 percent or more--all contingent on the purchaser. The staff cuts are, obviously, directly related to the transaction and the winning bidder.

The media giant might also retain a small minority stake.

The two names--Specific Media and Golden Gate Capital--that are now in the forefront for an acquisition deal that News Corp. hopes to complete by Thursday, its fiscal year-end, have not been among the acquirers mentioned previously in the myriad of reports about the deal.

Specific Media--a large, if lesser known, advertising network--seems to be in the lead, said sources. It has been around for a half-decade and has been funded by Francisco Partners. … Read more

MySpace is nearing another major round of layoffs, multiple reports suggest.

Gawker first reported on the possible layoffs yesterday, saying that rumors swirling around the company suggested that major layoffs are coming this week. One Gawker source told the blog that some employees "are actually hoping" for layoffs.

Following that, TechCrunch reported late last night that it had "confirmed" with a source that at least 150 employees will be laid off on Wednesday. In addition, the source told TechCrunch that 150 more employes will be placed on a "transition plan" that will allow them … Read more

Hulu apparently has a suitor and the video portal is considering whether to sell, according to reports from CNBC and The Wall Street Journal.

CNBC added that whoever the prospective buyer is, it isn't Google.

The LA Times, meanwhile, says that Yahoo has approached Hulu about a possible acquisition. It also reports that Hulu's board of directors has not met to consider any offers.

Originally founded by News Corp. and NBC Universal, Hulu later saw Disney become a partner. The service streams TV shows and movies over the Internet.

Hulu was an instant hit when it launched in … Read more

News Corp. is expected to begin entertaining bids for MySpace this week, with a minimum asking price of $100 million, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

In addition to about a half dozen private equity firms expected to submit offers, a couple of Internet companies have also expressed interest in the foundering social-networking site, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.

News Corp. representatives declined to comment on the report.

The media giant revealed in January that it was exploring the possibility of selling or spinning off MySpace after months of rumors and its own … Read more

Hulu is forecasting sales of close to half a billion dollars and more than a million Hulu Plus subscribers this year.

In a blog posted yesterday, CEO Jason Kilar marked the end of the first quarter with some notable figures and projections about the company's recent past and upcoming future.

The forecast of almost $500 million in sales for the year follows the first quarter in which revenue shot up around 90 percent compared with last year's initial quarter, according to Kilar. For 2010 as a whole, Hulu took in sales of $263 million.

Touting the expected rise … Read more

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Amazon launches Amazon Cloud Drive, a digital music locker to store and access your music

Sprint hopes to block the AT&T/T-Mobile merger

Kindle users with subscriptions to The New York Times will not have to pay additional fees to access the paper behind its new paywall

Facebook is going to release five more movies to rent on the site

Netflix gets permission to stream Paramount movies and shows in Canada

News Corp. may be planning to transfer control of MySpace to Vevo