News Corp: MySpace for sale or another 'strategic alternative'
News Corp.'s future is The Daily, the iPad newspaper. MySpace isn't in News Corp.'s plans.
Speaking on an earnings conference call, News Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey said about MySpace:
We recently completed a rebuild of the business for the focus of entertainment and restructured the organization to right size the company. With a new content focus and structure in place, we believe now is the right time for News Corp. to consider strategic options for this business. The new MySpace experience has been very well received by the market and we have some encouraging traffic metrics in the last several weeks. However, we recognize that the plan to allow MySpace to reach its full potential may be best developed under a new ownership structure and we're evaluating those strategic alternatives.
A quick look at the financials reveals why News Corp. wants to shed MySpace. The company reported fiscal second quarter net income of $642 million, or 24 cents a share, on revenue of $8.76 billion.
The "other" line---also known as MySpace---highlighted an operating loss of $156 million for the December quarter. News Corp. signaled in November that the leash was short for MySpace.
Also see: Is News Corp.'s iPad Daily a killer app?