Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Rupert Murdoch considers combining Fox, News Corp

Rupert Murdoch considers combining Fox, News Corp

Rupert Murdoch has started a process that could reunite his media empire, News Corp (NWSA.O) and Fox Corp (FOXA.O) disclosed on Friday, saying they would consider combining at his behest, nearly a decade after the companies split.
Both have formed special committees to review proposals of a potential combination, they said.

If a deal goes through, the combination will allow Murdoch greater control over his media assets and help the companies trim costs. Media companies are fighting decades-low growth in advertising sales and for users' attention against deep-pocketed social media and content websites.

After years of expansion globally, Murdoch split his empire in 2013, placing the print business in newly created public entity News Corp and the TV and entertainment under 21st Century Fox.

Murdoch said at the time that his vast media holdings had become "increasingly complex," and that a new structure would simplify operations. The split also shielded Fox's entertainment assets from any potential financial fall-out from a phone hacking scandal involving the media conglomerate's now-defunct News of the World publication in the United Kingdom.

The thinking at the time was that separating the companies ultimately would generate value for shareholders, according to one person familiar with the decision-making. That vision was realized as Fox sold the bulk of its film and television assets to Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) for $71 billion in 2019.

The sale left Fox focused on live events such as news and sports, rather than "disruptable" scripted entertainment content on the streaming platforms, Wall Street analysts observed at the time.

The major streaming services, however, have begun breaching the protective moat. Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), two technology giants with deep financial resources, have begun bidding for sports, securing rights to stream major league baseball, soccer and football games.

Fox recently renewed a long-term deal with the National Football League to continue broadcasting the Sunday afternoon games, but relinquished Thursday Night Football to Amazon.

Reuniting Fox and News Corp would give the combined companies greater scale to compete, and complement their assets, the person familiar with the proposal said. The combined companies would have around $24 billion in revenue.

Murdoch, 91, currently has near-controlling stakes in both the companies. His son Lachlan Murdoch is chairman and CEO of Fox Corp. Companies that adopt such arrangements typically make subsequent mergers subject to approval by a majority of shareholders not affiliated with their controlling shareholder, though it’s not clear whether this will be the case in this instance.

As of market-close on Friday, News Corp had a market cap of $9.31 billion and Fox Corp was $16.84 billion, according to Refinitiv. News Corp shares surged 5% and Fox rose about 1% in after-market trade.

The development was first reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier in the day.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
×