MySpace has ‘quarters, not years’ to turn things around


4 Nov 2010

News Corp COO Chase Carey has said MySpace’s current losses were “unacceptable”, and the social media site has quarters, as opposed to years, to become profitable.

According to USA Today, while Carey is optimistic about MySpace’s complete overhaul, he said the site needs to turn the dropping traffic numbers around, and fast.

“We’ve been clear that MySpace is a problem. The current losses are not acceptable or sustainable,” he said to analysts.

“Our current management team did not create these losses but accept them. I give them credit for pouring their heart and sweat into this problem.”

Carey also noted that News Corp wanted to see a path to profitability on a timetable measured “in quarters, not in years.”

News Corp reported a net income of $775m from the quarter ending in September. This was a growth of 36pc since the same quarter last year.

However, MySpace’s declines had been pulling down New Corp’s digital media earnings. The category it falls under faced operating losses of $156m in the quarter, growing by $30m from last year.

With News Corp expecting the social media site to become profitable with quarters, will MySpace’s new coat of paint even have the time to re-establish itself in the increasingly competitive online arena?