FOX Going Interactive
Reported by Marie Therese - October 20, 2005
Excerpt from article by Bambi Francisco at MarketWatch (subscription required): "As many Internet observers know, since July, News Corp has quickly snapped up three Web properties -- Intermix's MySpace, IGN Network, and Scout Media."
"But let's just say the $580 million purchase of Intermix's MySpace - as much as I liked it - wasn't exactly cheap. And, rival Net companies aren't exactly helping to make today's environment a buyer's market. Young companies, like Alibaba and Skype Technologies have received in the neighborhood of $4 billion market valuations from Yahoo and eBay.
"Levinsohn isn't setting an amount of money to be spent on future deals since News Corp's Rupert Murdoch ultimately holds the purse strings, but Levinsohn said his team has identified some interesting targets on a smaller scale than the $650 million spent on IGN Network, a site for video-game aficionados.
"'We've been very aggressive in talking to companies and banks and venture capital firms,' said Levinsohn, in our recent interview. When there's the next "'ight thing, we'll move quickly again,' he said.
"What could those upcoming acquisitions be? Goodness, where do I start.
"Internet media companies will need more than just content and traditional distribution to attract the audience of the next generation.
"They need the tools and platforms to arm their audiences -- ultimately the viewers/readers in charge of finding and promoting the talent from within their own ranks - so they can distribute the content through their social networks, blogs and connected links on the Web."
COMMENT
Wonder who Rupert plans to gobble up next?
