MUMBAI: News Corp?s success has come from speed, flexibility and creativity in responding to changing markets, in combination with the commitment to serving customers? needs.

News Corp chairman, CEO Rupert Murdoch made these remarks in a memo to employees on the occasion of the company deciding to split into two units.

"I believe our leadership is born out of a spirit of innovation. We have never accepted the status quo. We have always been driven by the belief that we can do better ? deliver a better product for our audiences and provide better performing businesses for our shareholders."

He noted that the publishing businesses are greatly undervalued by the skeptics. The aim of the split which he called a transformation is to unleash their real potential, and be able to better articulate the true value they hold for shareholders.

The drive is to create the most ambitious, well-capitalised and highly motivated publishing company in the world, consisting of the largest collection of news and publishing brands, as well as the digital education group.

"We will also work to create the world?s top media and entertainment company, encompassing our premier broadcast and cable networks, leading film and television production studios and highly successful pay-TV businesses. Much of our foundation already exists ? because of you. We have the

creative minds. We have the assets. We have the brands. But we must realign and reorganise in this moment of opportunity so that we can heighten our focus and be faster, more nimble, and more adaptable to change," Murdoch wrote.

When this journey began 60 years ago in Adelaide, the commitment was to provide great journalism, while also entertaining our consumers.

"In news, information, data, literature, and digital content, no company has devoted the resources, the passion, or enjoyed the success we have. That will not change. The most important guarantee to free societies, free markets and free minds is free speech. Knowledge has changed the course of history in every society, and we believe that being a creator and distributor of information is not just the right thing to do, it?s good business," Murdoch added.

The failure of other publishing companies to embrace the future has itself created opportunities for News Corp around the world. The publishing company will deliver on the promise of a well-informed society as it aggressively pursues growth across borders and new global platforms.

He further noted that on the media and entertainment side, the company has a reputation for inspiring and entertaining millions of imaginations every day. "We have a history of empowering truly visionary, creative talent to take chances that have redefined the landscape again and again. Today, our creative content businesses have never been stronger. Our distribution assets, globally, are on full throttle. These businesses, at the core of an independent media and
entertainment entity, will innovate and grow even faster."

He explained that the most valuable commodities in the world today are information, analysis and education, with infinite potential through the growth of technology and digital platforms to accelerate the improvement of world living standards.

"Today there are 30 million tablets in use in the U.S. and 75 million worldwide. In five years? time, there will be at least 75 million tablets in the U.S. and 375 million in the world. Smartphones will get far smarter and grow rapidly over the next 5 years, from 120 million active phones to 225 million in the U.S., and from 835 million to 1.7 billion in the world. These technologies will permeate all parts of life ? including education ? and it is my firm belief that these two companies will be best positioned to compete in this rapidly evolving global economy and distribute our premium content on these platforms.

"Over the years, I have become accustomed to the noise of critics and naysayers?and pretty thick-skinned! Remember what they said when we started the Fox Network, Sky, Fox News and The Sun? These experiences have made me more resilient. And they should you, as well. And time and time again, we persevered, creating new businesses, new products, telling new stories, informing and educating the public in new ways ? and giving jobs to thousands more people.

"I am extremely excited by this big change. It is a testimony to our entrepreneurial spirit and determination to educate, inspire and entertain millions of families across the globe."

Murdoch will personally be leading the creation of the new companies and will serve as Chairman of both organisations and as CEO of the media and entertainment company. Chase Carey will continue to partner with Murdoch on leading the media and entertainment business, by serving as President and COO.

MUMBAI: Decks have been cleared for Rupert Murdoch?s global media empire to be split into two companies with the high growth media & entertainment business being separated from the sluggish publishing business.

News Corporation?s Board authorised management to explore this separation after a Board meeting yesterday.

The move, aimed at increasing operational flexibility, will see creation of two distinctly public trading companies which would allow News Corp shareholders to hold interests in a publishing company, consisting of publishing assets and a new digital education group, and a global media and entertainment company.

Upon closing of the proposed transaction, Rupert Murdoch would serve as chairman of both companies and CEO of the media and entertainment company. Chase Carey would serve as President and COO of the media and entertainment company.

Over the next several months, the company will assemble management teams and Boards of Directors for both businesses, News Corp said in a statement.

Murdoch?s decision not to head the new publishing business has sparked speculation that he was setting the stage for the return of his eldest son Lachlan Murdoch to the company.

The separation is expected to be completed in approximately 12 months. Management is developing detailed plans for the Board?s further consideration and final approval. To execute the transaction requires further work on structure, management, governance, and other significant matters.

After receiving final approval of the Board of Directors, News Corporation will convene a special shareholder meeting to consider the transaction. This meeting is not expected to take place until the first half of calendar 2013.

"There is much work to be done, but our Board and I believe that this new corporate structure we are pursuing would accelerate News Corporation?s businesses to grow to new heights, and enable each company and its divisions to recognize their full potential - and unlock even greater long-term shareholder value," said News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch.

"News Corporation?s 60-year heritage of developing world-class media brands has resulted in a large and unparalleled portfolio of diversified assets. We recognize that over the years, News Corporation?s broad collection of assets have become increasingly complex. We determined that creating this new structure would simplify operations and greater align strategic priorities, enabling each company to better deliver on our commitments to consumers across the globe.

I am 100 percent committed to the future of both the publishing and media and entertainment businesses and, if the Board ultimately approves a separation, I would serve as Chairman of both companies."

The proposed transaction would create global category leaders in both publishing and entertainment: a publishing company, which would consist of News Corporation?s newspapers and information businesses in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, the company?s leading book publishing brands, its integrated marketing services company, its digital education group, as well as its other assets in Australia; and a global media and entertainment company, which would encompass News Corporation?s broadcast and worldwide cable networks, leading film and television production studios, television stations and highly successful pay-TV businesses in Europe and India.

The new global media and entertainment company would consist of News Corporation?s highly-profitable cable and television assets, filmed entertainment, and direct satellite broadcasting businesses, including Fox Broadcasting, Twentieth Century Fox Film, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Fox Sports, Fox International Channels, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FX, Star, the National Geographic Channels, Shine Group, Fox Television Stations, BSkyB, Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland.

The publishing company includes brands like Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, HarperCollins, The New York Post, and The Daily, as well as offer the rich diversity of assets in Australia, including leading brands such as The Australian, The Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph and The Courier Mail. In addition, the Company would include The Times, The Sun, The Sunday Times, as well as News Corporation?s integrated marketing services group and its ground-breaking digital education group, including Wireless Generation.

Upon closing of the proposed transaction, News Corporation?s shareholders would receive one share of common stock in the new company for each same class News Corporation share currently held. Following the separation, each company would maintain two classes of common stock: Class A Common and Class B Common Voting Shares.

In addition to shareholder approval, the completion of the separation will also be subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, opinions from tax counsel and favorable rulings from certain tax jurisdictions regarding the tax-free nature of the transaction to the Company and to its shareholders, further due diligence as appropriate, and the filing and effectiveness of appropriate filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

MUMBAI: Manchester United is the world?s most popular club with 659 million global followers.

Kantar, which carried out a survey, found that football remains the world?s most popular sport, with 1.6 billion followers globally, reinforcing the results of a recent Fifa survey. For the survey, Kantar gathered 54,000 respondents from 39 countries.

The club?s commercial director Richard Arnold commented on the long-term strategy that has made Manchester United the number one club in the world?s number one sport: "Manchester United has built on a tradition of iconic players, iconic teams and iconic achievements -- Beckham, Busby, Benfica ?68. Now our games are broadcast to 1.15 billion households globally, to an audience of over four billion a year."

Since 2007, Manchester United has rolled out new approaches to reach fans. The connections to the club has grown exponentially: from the increase in TV viewership from two to four billion last season, to the demand from millions of media subscribers in 72 countries through media partnerships and to the way the footage of Wayne?s overhead kick echoed around the world on social media.

"With the DHL Champions Trophy tour we have seen that passion from our community of followers face to face in 38 cities across the globe, and there does not seem to be a beach or street in the world where you do not see the Aon and Nike shirt. This survey shows that our family of followers is going from strength to strength," Arnold said.

Manchester United has 71 million followers in Americas, 90 million in Europe 73 million in Middle East and Africa, 325 million in Asia-Pacific an 108 million in China.

The number of Manchester United followers globally has grown by 98 per cent since the previous survey in 2007. Manchester United?s family of followers is larger than the combined population of the US, Brazil and Mexico.

MUMBAI: TV networks in the US, Fox, NBC Universal and CBS, have separately sued satellite broadcaster Dish Network to battle the latter?s ad-skipping DVR service AutoHop service that allows consumers to skip television ads.

At the same time, Dish has taken a step to protect its new service by filing a lawsuit against Fox, NBC, CBS and ABC, although ABC has not sued Dish. The network provider sought a "declaratory judgment" that its AutoHop feature is legal arguing, "viewers have been skipping commercials since the advent of the remote control."

Since 10 May, Dish has been advertising a digital video recorder service called ?Primetime Anytime? that gives consumers access to the last eight days of prime-time programming from the four major broadcast networks - ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox - sans the commercials.

Fox released a statement saying that Dish?s service may "destroy the fundamental underpinnings of the broadcast television ecosystem." It added that the wrongheaded decision requires Fox to take swift action in order to aggressively defend the future of free, over-the-air television.

NBC also released a statement explaining that advertisements generate the revenue that makes it possible for local broadcast stations and national broadcast networks to pay for the creation of the news, sports and entertainment programming. The statement further said that Dish did not have the "authority to tamper" with the ads from broadcast replays on a "wholesale basis for its own economic and commercial advantage".

According to CBS, this service takes existing network content and modifies it in a manner that is "unauthorized" and "illegal" making it a clear violation of copyright law.

According to TV ratings and research provider Nielsen, about 40 per cent of the 115 million television households in the US have a DVR. About 8.4 per cent of all TV viewing among adults aged 18 to 34 last year constituted watching programs on DVR which is an increase from about 7.9 per cent in 2010.