news corp

If Hulu loses CEO, who would want that gig?

Toast.

That's what Jason Kilar's career at Hulu is supposed to be soon if all the media speculation is correct.

Hulu is controlled by broadcast networks, NBC, ABC, and Fox, but that didn't stop Kilar, Hulu's CEO, from writing in a blog post Wednesday that TV is cluttered with too many ads and he predicted that prices and profit margins for the TV sector would decline. He even lamented the tendency of "incumbents" (read: TV execs) to fight change. Much of his post was about what Hulu needed to offer consumers if it is … Read more

The 404 751: Where Peter Ha adds The Daily logo next to his Pepsi tattoo (podcast)

Two days ago Rupert Murdoch announced The Daily, News Corp.'s latest publication built for the iPad platform, and we've been waiting all week to get its tech editor, Peter Ha, in the studio to tell us about the new pricing model and how it'll shape the future of online publishing. Lucky for us, today is that day, but the show starts off with a bit of controversy. Tune in to hear Jeff's fumble!

But Peter's not here to talk about the Korean flag or tattoos, he joins us today to chat about The Daily. The magazine/book/newspaper, or whatever you want to call it, is fielding plenty of comparisons to free news outlets like The New York Times and The Huffington Post that also have their own iPad apps, or even Flipboard, another visually interactive app for the tablet platform.

But from what Peter tells us, The Daily is a different kind of user experience in that it delivers editorial content made specifically for the iPad, whereas those other apps simply pull in RSS-feed versions of their Web-based counterparts.

For 99 cents a week or $39.99 a year, The Daily uses a set of templates to deliver content more in line with a newspaper as a backseat user experience, as opposed to the personalized, curated set of blogs you choose for Flipboard or other "mobile news readers."

The Daily also provides content interactively by way of a floating carousel of categories with 360-degree high-resolution photos, audio clips, and video. Whether or not that justifies the subscription fee is up to the user, although we're all impressed by (and a little pensive about) the ability to record and post audio comments in addition to text.

Stay tuned for the second half where we examine the plausibility of The Daily coming to the fragmented Android Market. Like it or hate it, Android is certainly the default operating system for consumers to turn to after iOS, but Wilson doesn't believe that Android users will accept the idea of paying for apps anytime soon. On the other hand, the guy can barely predict his plans for this weekend, so don't take his words too seriously.

As usual, we have a blast riffing back and forth with Peter Ha, who's not only a hilarious friend of the show but also offers valuable insight into the mobile publishing industry, the ongoing mobile OS wars, and hopefully Rupert Murdoch's to-do list. Check out today's show and let us know what you think about The Daily! Give us a call at 1-866-404-CNET and leave us a voice mail, or e-mail us at the404(at)cnet(dot)com.

Episode 751 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Netflix rises as studios' DVD money plunges

Not long ago, ambitious young executives at the six major Hollywood film studios maneuvered to get into the home entertainment divisions.

Nowadays, getting assigned to home entertainment is like being sent to the Eastern front. Better to work in theatrical distribution, international, or maybe studio facilities. Recently, I spoke with an executive from one of the big studios who, while discussing the challenges of working in the film industry, noted there was one silver lining: "At least I don't work in home entertainment."

The studios' home-entertainment divisions typically oversee sales of DVDs and Blu-ray discs as well … Read more

Reuters 'eyewitness' claims Apple's iPad 2 was at The Daily event

Making the rounds on the Internet today is a story about a Reuters "eyewitness" who claims to have seen an iPad 2 at the press event for News Corp.'s The Daily.

The story certainly makes a splashy headline for Reuters, but its content has been thoroughly scrutinized by other mainstream media, including TechCrunch's MG Siegler, whose "Reuters Knows A Guy Who Knows A Guy Who Totally Saw The iPad 2 Today" headline captures most of the sentiment around the Web.

Siegler's main point of contention, one that I certainly agree with, is that "this is the age of the cameraphone. Where's the goddamn picture?"

As Siegler put it, the meat of the story from Reuters reads:

A Reuters eyewitness saw what appeared to be a working model of the next iPad with a front-facing camera at the top edge of the glass screen at a press conference to mark the debut of News Corp's Daily online paper in New York on Wednesday.

A source with knowledge of the device confirmed its existence, adding that the final release model could have other features. News Corp and Apple declined to comment.

To break it down, someone saw what that person believed to be an iPad 2 (due to a front-facing camera on the device) and told someone from Reuters (apparently under the condition of anonymity) but couldn't manage to get any evidence. Another source "confirms" that Apple will indeed make version 2 of the best-selling consumer electronic device in history.

Yes, that's meaty.… Read more

News Corp. ready to unload MySpace

News Corp. is weighing the sale of MySpace as one of a few remaining options to deal with the once popular but now languishing social network.

News Corp. CEO Chase Carey said yesterday in an earnings conference call that the time is right to consider either restructuring its relationship with MySpace or just selling it outright.

"We recognize that the plan to allow MySpace to reach its full potential may be best developed under a new ownership structure and we're evaluating those strategic alternatives," Carey said, according to the AFP news service.

Although Carey clarified that options … Read more

Rift widens between Hulu CEO and backers

For weeks, news outlets have speculated about the tension that appears to be growing between Hulu's management and the major media companies that back the Web video portal.

The rift is at least big enough to prompt Hulu CEO Jason Kilar to write a blog post that appears to takes his argument with his bosses at NBC Universal, Disney, and News Corp., to the public. In his note, Kilar said things that he must have known would anger many at the three media companies who each own a minority stake in Hulu.

Kilar, a former Amazon exec, was critical … Read more

News Corp.'s Daily makes its debut (live blog)

Editor's note: This live event has concluded. For a brief rundown of what was announced, check out this summary post. You can also review the transcript of the live blog below or replay it in the Cover It Live module at the end of the transcript.

There hasn't been this much buzz about a News Corp. digital product since the heyday of MySpace, but we're sure that the people behind The Daily--a highly anticipated daily news publication designed for the iPad--are hoping for better long-term sustainability.

On Wednesday, after weeks of delays, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch … Read more

The 404 749: Where we trust rodents more than meteorologists (podcast)

Every year the citizens of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania gather around a small hut in Gobbler's Knob (pause) to witness a 100-year old marmot predict the future, and this year it looks like Spring is on its way. Old Phil may be losing his eyesight, because we also happen to be in the middle of the largest storm in the last few decades, according to a less-credible operation called NASA.

Maybe we should shift our focus to a closer weather-predicting rodent at the Staten Island Zoo, Mr. Charles G. Hogg aka Staten Island Chuck, who has accurately predicted winter weather 23 out of the last 30 years.

Still don't trust him? What if we told you that Staten Island Chuck has a Facebook page AND lives in a wireless log cabin adorned with solar-powered weather station panels that allows him to make daily weather predictions using renewable energy from the sun? It's not a joke, this guy is legit.

We can make fun of Groundhog's Day for the next 364 days, but let's move onto our next story about an unfortunate photographer in Zurich who lost over 4,000 puppy photos thanks to a Flickr fumble that accidentally mixed up his account with another scheduled for deletion.

To make up for it, the Yahoo-owned photo uploading service generously offered four years of a Pro account for free, worth about a hundred bucks- sounds fair. Think about this story the next time you can't find the time to back up your data to a physical storage drive.

We also suggest backing up your back ups to a disaster-proof drive, but the truly paranoid should also load their precious data on hidden thumb drives around the office for extra security.

Finally, the big tech story of the day is News Corp. and Apple's latest publication generated specifically for the iPad called The Daily. It's a modern news brand that Apple and News Corp. call the first "all media product" and includes highly interactive and curated text articles, photos, and videos, not to mention text-to-speech audio clips of selected stories.

Unlike most of the news sites on the web , however, The Daily won't be available for free. The publication introduces a new pricing model that costs $0.99 a week or $39.99 for the year. The subscription also includes access to the Web version and users can share articles for free on Facebook and Twitter.

The 404 is truly the Paris Hilton of the Web, so we happen to know the Technology Editor at The Daily. We're hoping Peter Ha can join us on Friday's show to tell us more about the publication, so check our Twitter for the latest updates!

Episode 749 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Murdoch's Daily for iPad is hot--off the presses

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp. kicked off The Daily today, a publication built for the iPad and--Murdoch hopes--the next generation of readers.

For a yearly subscription fee of $39.99, The Daily will deliver to iPad owners up to 100 pages of news and information each day, News Corp. Chairman Murdoch and his lieutenants told the gathering of media and supporters at New York's Guggenheim museum. The Daily is available immediately at Thedaily.com and News Corp. will offer the first two weeks free, thanks to Verizon, which is picking up the tab.

The publication will … Read more