Search icon

Uncategorized

30th Jun 2011

Rupert Murdoch makes $545m loss on MySpace sale

Once regarded as the biggest social network in the world, media mogul Rupert Murdoch has sold MySpace for a humiliating $35m, $545 less than what he paid.

JOE

Once regarded as the biggest social network in the world, media mogul Rupert Murdoch has sold MySpace for a humiliating $35m, $545 less than what he paid.

The News Corporation CEO bought the site in 2005 for a whopping $580m, at which point MySpace was the clear leader over rivals Facebook. However, having lost that title, the site has also failed to successfully repackage itself in recent times as a hub for music and entertainment content.

The new owners of the site, Specific Media, have paid just $35m for the site, a loss of $545 over just six years. In even worse news, the acquisition wasn’t even a cash deal – News Corp will instead receive shares in new owners Specific Media and hang onto a minority stake

The new owners are an advertising company that specialise in targeted media, though they have not yet outlined their plans for the site.

“MySpace is a recognised leader that has pioneered the social-media space,” said Specific Media’s founder and chief executive Tim Vanderhook.

“The company has transformed the ways in which audiences discover, consume and engage with content online. There are many synergies between our companies as we are both focused on enhancing digital-media experiences by fuelling connections with relevance and interest.”

First Bebo, then MySpace – is it too late for anyone to ever challenge Facebook’s dominance? Google believe that they have the solution, but their recently-announced Google+ service sounds a bit… meh.

Topics: