If Rupert Murdoch has his way -- and as the chairman of News Corp.
Many saw this move coming after News Corp. agreed to purchase Dow Jones
But, you say, what about the $100 standard annual rate each of the current 1 million subscribers pay? True, that's about $100 million in lost revenue for advertising to make up, not to mention any additional lost print subscriptions. Pretty big risk, isn't it? Not really. News Corp. generated almost $30 billion in revenue last year with its large assortment of media properties. Even if it had to offset $200 million by dropping online subscriptions (to account for possible lost print subscriptions), that's still less than 1% of the company's total revenue.
And the upside is huge. News Corp. is forecasting 45 million subscribers for its new Fox Business Network next year. I hate to use the word "synergy," but it's not hard to see how complementary The Wall Street Journal and the Fox Business Network will be, once they're fully integrated and sans pesky subscription walls. The possibilities make $200 million seem downright petty, if you ask this Fool.