News Corp. was founded in 1979 by Rupert Murdoch as a holding company for News Limited, which was founded in 1923 in Australia by Keith Murdoch.
News Limited entered the American Market with the 1973 acquisition of the San Antonio Express. It then started the supermarket tabloid National Star, and purchased the New York Post in 1976.
In 1981 News Corp. purchased half of the movie studio 20th Century Fox, buying the other half in 1984. It bought the Metromedia group of stations in 1986 and launched the Fox Broadcasting Company. This network is now available in almost 100% of American households.
In 1996 News Corp started the all-news channel Fox News, to rival Ted Turner’s CNN.
In 2003 it purchased 34% of Direc TV from GM for over $6 billion.
In July 2005 it purchased Myspace for $580 million. Within a year, Myspace tripled in value. The site later faced fierce competition. News Corp eventually sold the site for $35 million in 2011.
In 2007 News Corp purchased Dow Jones & Company, owners of the Wall Street Journal, for $5 billion.
News Corp. split into two different companies in 2012. 21st Century Fox retained the media properties while new News Corp (a new company formed by a stock split) focuses more on publishing.
News Corp.
News Corp. was founded in 1979 by Rupert Murdoch as a holding company for News Limited, which was founded in 1923 in Australia by Keith Murdoch.
News Limited entered the American Market with the 1973 acquisition of the San Antonio Express. It then started the supermarket tabloid National Star, and purchased the New York Post in 1976.
In 1981 News Corp. purchased half of the movie studio 20th Century Fox, buying the other half in 1984. It bought the Metromedia group of stations in 1986 and launched the Fox Broadcasting Company. This network is now available in almost 100% of American households.
History
In 1996 News Corp started the all-news channel Fox News, to rival Ted Turner’s CNN.
In 2003 it purchased 34% of Direc TV from GM for over $6 billion.
In July 2005 it purchased Myspace for $580 million. Within a year, Myspace tripled in value. The site later faced fierce competition. News Corp eventually sold the site for $35 million in 2011.
In 2007 News Corp purchased Dow Jones & Company, owners of the Wall Street Journal, for $5 billion.
News Corp. split into two different companies in 2012. 21st Century Fox retained the media properties while new News Corp (a new company formed by a stock split) focuses more on publishing.