News Corp. Looks At Charging For Websites

Rupert Murdoch says that he might start charging for people to read the online versions of his newspapers.

News Corp., owned by Rupert Murdoch, owns newspapers and media around the world, including the Wall Street Journal, the Times, and, of course, Fox. Yesterday, encouraged by the jump in subscriptions and the revenue that brings at WSJ, Murdoch says he’s looking at charging people to read the content at the websites of his newspapers, according to a report in the Guardian.

He said papers were undertaking an “epochal” debate about whether to charge, and added:

"That it is possible to charge for content on the web is obvious from the Wall Street Journal’s experience."

Murdoch concluded that the changes would likely happen over the next year and that "the current days of the internet will soon be over."

It’s no secret that most newspapers are in trouble, with many closing, and even the biggest players having a difficult time, thanks in large part to slumping ad revenues. News Corp. hasn’t been immune. Although pre-tax profits were $1.7 billion, quarterly operating profits fell by 47% to $755million. The newspaper division saw quarterly profits go from $216million to $7million year-on-year. TV profits also took a massive plunge, going from $419million to just $4million.