Abstract

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has evolved into a global media conglomerate. The company owns approximately one-third of newspapers and BSkyB (satellite television) in Britain. It also owns the Fox Entertainment Group that makes movies under the name Twentieth Century Fox and the television programmes under The Fox Network. News Corp's television reach extends to millions of homes worldwide. The company recently acquired DirecTV from General Motors. With this acquisition, Murdoch has captured access to 12 million subscribers in the US. This marks a pivotal turn in Murdoch's 50-year rise from an Australian newspaperman to one of the world's most powerful businessmen. DirecTV is also expected to fortify Murdoch's own channels against competition from Comcast and Time Warner. Industry analysts predict that News Corp will be able to drive down the prices of entertainment and sports programming. With millions of viewers hooked up to DirecTV, few programmers will risk not being in News Corp's system. At the same time, Murdoch will have the leverage to force his cable and satellite rivals to carry his programmes at premium prices. Murdoch's aggressive marketing tactics may facilitate this process. The case can be used to explain contemporary trends in the global media industry and the increasing importance of distribution in the entertainment business.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

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Keywords

News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, DirecTV, Comcast, General Motors, Satellite television, Cable television, Star television, Sky, 20th Century Fox, CNBC, Media, Broadcasting services, BSkyB, Warner