Murdoch puts faith in pay-TV
June 24, 2008
News Corp is counting on its growing pay-TV businesses to offset any downturn in the advertising economy that would affect its television and print divisions, according to chairman Rupert Murdoch.
Speaking after a global advertising conference, Murdoch flagged plans for further activity in the European pay-TV platform market after the company bought a 25 per cent stake in German pay-TV business Premiere earlier this year. “We’ve got hopes and plans to do more (in Europe),” Murdoch said “We just had three directors elected to the board of Premiere. They’re happy to have our help.”
He said the company’s pay-TV businesses would “more than compensate” in case of a downturn in print and terrestrial television advertising and could help fund “later purchases”, Murdoch said. “Our cable programming businesses are going to be a great profit driver for us in the coming years (if) advertising on TV stations and in newspapers has a hard time. The News Corp chairman and chief executive predicted there would be a marked recession for at least two years but said the US would be the first market to emerge from the slowdown because of its ability to innovate.