RUPERT MURDOCH Plans To Launch CNBC Rival

(From Newsweek)

Media magnate RUPERT MURDOCH plans to take on CNBC, launching a competing business news channel by the end of the year, he said in a magazine interview.

"We're in pretty intense discussions with the biggest cable companies, and making quite considerable progress," the
NEWS CORP. Chairman told NEWSWEEK for the magazine's February 13th issue.

After spending more than $1.5 billion on Internet ventures in the last year, Murdoch said he is on the verge of announcing plans to offer broadband through his satellite-television service DIRECTV. That project, along with News Corp.'s current Internet holdings, will bring in "a conservative $1 billion" in revenue by 2010, he predicted.

Murdoch also responded to concerns that young members of MySpace.com, one of his recent acquisitions, are being targeted by sexual predators. A third of the company's staff monitors the site to keep it clean, he said.

"We're being very proactive," he said. "We plan to reach out further to school principals, church groups and community organizations to educate them on the safety measures we've developed."

The site will soon allow visitors to exchange and post video, he said.

Murdoch heralded "the shift to digital media," but dismissed some recent innovations, including the sale of single TV shows for download onto IPODS.

The push to split media conglomerates into smaller holdings is also unwise, Murdoch argued, when asked about
VIACOM INC.'s recent breakup and moves by financier
CARL ICAHN to similarly divide TIME WARNER INC., which Murdoch said was "very well run."

"Icahn has gone out on a limb. Even if he succeeds in getting it broken up -- and that would be very sad -- I don't think he'd make money out of it," he said.

Tom Blais, thanks for the post.