Speaking at a conference, president and COO of News Corp. (NWS-A), Peter Chernin talked about the next several years and what it would bring News Corp.
One of the things he asserted was that they should be able to sustain double-digit growth for the next several years, if the company doesn't lose its focus and not search relentlessly for the things that would drive growth in 2010 to 2015.
He said that one of the things the company definitely needs is a broadband presence. They need to be able to offer a service that packages the TV, Internet, and phone service. Something they can't do with their DirecTV (DTV) property, which they're trying to unload. Until they do this they won't be competitive with the telcos.
Concerning their most popular recent acquisition MySpace, Chernin says that he believes that sometime next year it will start to turn a small profit. He doesn't suppress the fact that he does have concerns about the site's long-term success, as if they don't do the right things with it, another site or sites could take over its role.
With the negative press that continually hounds the Fox Television division, Chernin said that he's upbeat about its prospects, as year-after-year the same cycle happens where they are counted out until they release their big guys - "American Idol" and "24" - and then they take off to finish strong for the year. They are slated to begin in early 2007.
In reference to downloaded or On Demand video, he thinks that the model that will eventually win out will be ad-supported.
He also hints that they are not aggressively in the acquisition mode any longer, as there is nothing that is available at a bargain anymore.
Finally he commented that the Fox Business Channel will emerge when the right amount of subscribers are signed up.
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