Surprising no one, News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch had plenty to say at last week's McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) Media Summit, offering a blend of irrevent opinions on U.S. politics and sharp media insights.
For starters, Murdoch intends to start a long-discussed business news channel under the Fox umbrella. The channel, which will compete head-to-head with General Electric's (NYSE: GE) CNBC, likely will debut in the fall, although Murdoch said that further specifics would be forthcoming, perhaps as early as this week. He quipped, however, that he was reluctant to disclose too many details at this time, since "everything we do, CNBC will immediately copy."
Murdoch still harbors a desire to acquire Long Island-based newspaper Newsday from Tribune (NYSE: TRB), noting that he believes it would constitute an excellent fit with his own company's New York Post. Tribune has been undergoing a four-month examination (internally and externally) to determine its future in the face of declining advertising and circulation numbers. In the process, it has received offers for its Los Angeles Times newspaper from multiple L.A. billionaires.
Murdoch also defended News Corp.'s decision to remove itself from the satellite television business by selling its stake in DirecTV (NYSE: DTV), the largest of the satellite providers, to John Malone's Liberty Media. According to Murdoch, competing with the triple-play video, high-speed data, and telephony offerings of the U.S. cable and phone companies has become difficult for satellite-television providers.
He takes pride in the company's Fox movie studio and its prospects, stating that he had seen the film Borat three times and "laughed like hell." He said that the film's creator, Sacha Baron Cohen, is on board for a sequel.
MySpace has grown more rapidly than Murdoch and other News Corp. executives anticipated when they bought it two years ago. He remains undaunted about competition from Facebook, a fellow social-networking site largely directed toward college students. As Murdoch said, a user's new relationship with Facebook does not necessarily result in a breakup with MySpace.
As the Fool's resident geezer, I find it especially appealing that, at 75 years of age, Murdoch obviously comprehends traditional media and new media with equal facility. His dexterity in that respect is perhaps one reason why, while other media companies have struggled, News Corp. -- whose portfolio of business consists of an array of newspapers, film, television, and new media -- has watched its shares rise nearly 50% in the past year.
But I was most intrigued by Murdoch's declaration of a new business news channel. The area has been virtually the sole province of CNBC since the 1990s, and it seems to me that competition from another well-founded -- and well-financed -- network will benefit investing Fools considerably.
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Fool contributor David Lee Smith does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
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