News Corp ‘open’ to selling MySpace


30 Nov 2010

News Corp is open to selling the struggling MySpace after its recent relaunch as an entertainment site, reports say. MySpace also named Mike Jones as its new CEO.

There has been widespread speculation that News Corp could sell the site or partner with companies such as Yahoo or AOL.

According to Reuters, News Corp’s CEO Chase Carey said a potential merger would have been “a pretty tough sale process” before its redesign.

He said that before this revamp, options would have been limited and it would have been “undervalued.”

Carey did not specify how long News Corp will give it to become profitable, though he did say the site needed to be urgently dealt with.

Carey previously stated that the company had “quarters, not years” to turn its fortunes around.

MySpace has been struggling in the social media arena in recent years, losing much of its userbase to Facebook and Twitter.

Its declines had been pulling down News Corp’s digital media earnings, so it’s easy to see why there are talks over selling it.

Today, MySpace promoted its president Mike Jones to CEO in an effort to help turn things around.

Before working for MySpace, Jones founded and sold several companies. One of these companies included Userplane, where he led it from start-up to its acquisition by AOL.

He is an active angel investor and sits within the consumer internet sector.

The company also promoted its chief people officer Dustin Finer to chief of operation.