News Corp is getting digital all over the place, and it has few smart people on board.
I was amazed today reading some words Fox Interactive President Ross Levinsohn spoke recently.
Fox Interactive is essentially internet arm of News Corp. and they are pro-actively seeking web properties that intenet users acctually ''USE''.
They bought MySpace last year.
Here's that famouse quote by Ross Levinsohn that struck me a lot:
He said he didn't go to business school, doesn't look at spreadsheets and basically goes on instinct. The primary question he asks is, "Will consumers use it?" He said that Intermix (Myspace) was acquired over a two-day period in Century City, CA. "I was scared to death, spending 580 milllion of someone elses money," Levinsohn said. "We are approaching it differently than anyone else out there. There is not another company on planet that could move with speed we have. Rupert [Murdoch] and [Peter] Chernin (Fox's #2] are fearless."
Levinsohn also described the conversation he had with Chernin about whether to buy Myspace or IGN, a game site. Chernin asked him which one he preferred.
Levinsohn thought about it and finally gave an answer, but he was enamored of both.
Chernin's answer–buy both, which he did for over $1 billion. "At Fox Sports, we needed seven signatures to hire a $20,000 secretary. It's Rupert Murdoch's company–no other media company can move like that."
( source: IBDN Network event )
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