iPad unloved without us: Murdoch
By Andrew Clark | smh.com.au | 03 February
Rupert Murdoch has suggested the iPad and the Kindle would be ''unloved and unsold'' without creativity from companies like his News Corporation.
Tablet computers, e-readers and smartphones would be unloved ''empty vessels'' without quality creative content, he said in New York on Tuesday as News Corp opened a new front in its battle to get people to pay for journalism and entertainment.
Enjoying a boost from Hollywood filmmaking success and from the popularity of its Fox TV network, News Corp returned to financial health with profits of $US254 million ($287 million) for the three months to December, compared with a $US6.4 billion loss a year ago after huge asset write-downs.
Mr Murdoch said he was moving closer to imposing charges for access to all News Corp's newspaper websites, and he revealed the company was in ''advanced discussions'' with hand-held device manufacturers about a subscription model allowing people to access media content ''whenever and wherever they want it''.
''Content is not just king, it is the emperor of all things digital,'' he said. ''We're on the cusp of a digital revolution from which our shareholders will profit handsomely.''
In a reference to technology such as Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle, he said such ''fabulous devices'' would be ''unloved and unsold'' without creativity from companies such as his own, adding they were powered by content - not batteries.
''Instead of the existential debate about value, now we're merely arguing about valuation,'' he said. ''Consumers want content delivered immediately and on a variety of devices. They're willing to pay to be entertained and informed.''
Asked about a recent speech in which the editor of The Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, argued that papers were ''sleep-walking into oblivion'' if they try to resist a trend towards free access, Mr Murdoch said: ''I think that sounds like BS to me.''
News Corp's profits were hit by a $US500 million charge to settle litigation brought by a US firm, Valassis Communications, which accused it of anti-competitive behaviour in aggressive use of discount coupons for marketing.
But the company's Twentieth Century Fox film studio, which made James Cameron's blockbuster hit Avatar, saw its profits surge from $US112 million to $US324 million, aided by DVD releases of movies such as Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Night at the Museum.
News Corp is set to scoop a windfall in ticket receipts this year from Avatar, which recently passed Titanic to become the cinema box office draw of all time, and Mr Murdoch said there had already been ''very early talks'' with Cameron about a sequel, although he added: ''I wouldn't hold your breath on the timing.''
Profits of News Corp's newspapers rose 29 per cent to $US259 million, aided by cost cuts at British titles and a robust performance from The Wall Street Journal. Despite financial woes on much of Fleet Street, Murdoch singled out his British tabloid The Sun for praise, saying it had achieved record weeks of advertising revenue recently.
The group's TV stations turned in higher earnings and are the subject of an initiative to get cable networks to pay more to transmit Fox programming. But MySpace continues to struggle after losing a battle for dominance to Facebook.
First published by Smh.com.au on February 03 2010
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