Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has announced the closure of its internet arm, News Digital Media. Production of its websites – Foxnews.com, Foxsports.com, and Fox.com – will be transferred to the respective news, sports and general entertainment divisions of the television company.
The decision to combine the TV and online platforms of Fox will lead to “significant cost savings” for the company, according to a statement released yesterday. The move, to take place “as quickly as possible”, is a reversal of News Corp’s former plans for its internet division.
Jon Richmond, president of News Digital Media, said: “During the early years of internet growth, there was a fear that television and web programming would rival each other. On the contrary, we have seen a strong symbiotic relationship develop between Fox’s online and broadcast platforms, and the time is right to capitalize on that relationship by streamlining our sports, news and entertainment programming.”
In recent months media owners have begun to scale back investment in new media as a result of fall-out within the dotcom sector. In the UK, publishers in particular have been hit by the shake-out (see Desmond Pulls The Plug On Express Websites).
Hello. We have downloaded cookies on your device. Some of these cookies are essential for the website to function. Others are non-essential and are used for analytics and advertising.
We need your consent for these types of cookies.
To withdraw your consent or change your cookie choices, please do this through your browser settings.
Otherwise, click OK to accept and continue.
