] HipMojo.com » Crazy idea of the Day: Should News Corp. spin off Myspace and IGN?

Crazy idea of the Day: Should News Corp. spin off Myspace and IGN?

Of course the answer to that is no. 

Rupert Murdoch went all out and bought both assets for $1.3 billion… it’s made him the envy of many media moguls to own such jewels, but can you imagine the coup de theatre if he did?

Yesterday, Forbes asks if it helps or hurts IGN to be part of FIM.

And there are rumors of an eventual MySpace IPO, read more here.

While FIM is on pace to generate $300M in revenues this year, it will carry a loss.  Next year, the revenue is $500M for the online unit, that includes MySpace, IGN, Scout and all of Fox’s flagship online properties. 

The $900 million Google is paying FIM over three years is a great coup because I doubt FIM would generate that much in income through a stand alone search strategy, but, the fact remains that $300M per year is chump change to a behemoth like News Corp. who generates $20B per year in sales.

So, should Murdoch spin off MySpace and IGN?  The former because it has risen in value quite a bit (at least if value is a function of traffic); the ladder because it might be restricted within FIM? 

MySpace and IGN could generate quite a bit more than the $1.3 billion they cost Murdoch.  Of course, if it were up to me, I am not sure I would have sold to News Corp. in the first place. 

MySpace has grown into a social phenomenon; IGN could be a CNET (what is lacks in some areas it has in others), worth $1.2 Billion on the stock market. 

But of course, no one ever asks me anything!

[Disclosure: News Corp.’s FIM is involved in ongoing litigation against WatchMojo.com]

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Posted By: Ashkan Karbasfrooshan | Aug 8th

2 Responses to “Crazy idea of the Day: Should News Corp. spin off Myspace and IGN?”

  1. HipMojo.com - IT, Video, Web, Technology, Gadgets » The future of media distribution? Says:
    August 14th, 2006 at 4:23 pm

    […] The truth however is that this is not News Corp.’s first foray in digital distribution.  It is however a coup for IGN and FIM, because it showcases their assets.  But, as Forbes columnist asked a few weeks ago if it helps IGN to be under News Corp., this does show that IGN - with its diversified assets - might be better off from a pure shareholder value perspective - as a stand alone entity, being able to strike deals with all of the media companies. […]

  2. HipMojo.com - IT, Video, Web, Technology, Gadgets » What if MySpace had a search engine? Technically, MySpace is a search engine… Says:
    August 22nd, 2006 at 1:40 pm

    […] - FIM’s Search Strategy Soul-Searching - Is MySpace a Fad? It is according to CNN/Money.com - How much is MySpace’s search business worth, anyway? Part 1 - Did Google Overpay for Fox Interactive Media’s Search Business? Part 2 - Crazy idea of the Day: Should News Corp. spin off Myspace and IGN? […]

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