The second and current incarnation of News Corporation, doing business as News Corp,[3] is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was formed on June 28, 2013, as a spin-off of the first News Corporation, whose legal successor was 21st Century Fox, which held its media and entertainment assets. Operating across digital real estate information, news media, book publishing, and cable television, News Corp's notable assets include: Dow Jones & Company, which is the publisher of The Wall Street Journal; News UK, publisher of The Sun and The Times; News Corp Australia; REA Group, operator of realestate.com.au and realtor.com; and book publisher HarperCollins.
After News Corp announced its plan to split publicly on June 28, 2012, they had planned for it to be a necessary change in order to prioritize the separate needs of each company.[4] Since they were going to be separate companies, each having its own team, it was supposed to make both companies more efficient relative to market changes. When News Corp officially split with Fox News on June 28, 2013, News Corp took a modified approach by changing the way they reported news and ads, while including other broader topics, which helped to increase viewers. This is a prime example of how the separation of companies led to immediate benefits without any significant negative impacts on either News Corp or Fox News.[5]
Following the split, News Corp started 2013 with $2.6 billion, while being debt-free, which gave it an edge over its media competition to implement its plans and strategies to continue developing.[6] After becoming an individual company, there were no longer concerns about maintaining profits or equal market strategies between News Corp and Fox News. The separation gave both companies benefits, increasing productivity, strategy, and company development and growth, while having complete economic and decision-making freedom as a result of this separation.[7]
News Corp and 21st Century Fox are two companies that succeeded the original News Corp., which included Fox Entertainment Group and other broadcasting and media properties.[8] The spin-out was structured so that 21st Century Fox was the legal continuation of the original News Corporation, with the new News Corp being a new company formed by a stock split. Since March 2019, Fox Corporation, which holds 21st Century Fox's national broadcasting, news and sports assets, is also under the Murdoch family's control.[9][10] In November 2023, Rupert Murdoch stepped down as News Corp's chairman, becoming "chairman emeritus".[11][12]
History
Formation
News Corporation, referred to as "News Corp," was started in 1980 in Australia. It was founded by Rupert Murdoch, who led the company in its publishing, in both news and books, as well as television. These were all published in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, allowing the new and growing company to gain popularity worldwide.[8]
Starting in 1981, News Corp started developing its television industry, which became its primary goal through the 1990s. In 1996, News Corp began premiering Fox News, which significantly gained popularity.[10] Following the success of News Corp's Fox News, it acquired the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company. This was another success for News Corp since it gave it important names throughout writing, publishing, and television.
As News Corp continued to expand its ownership in June 2010, by putting out a bid for British Sky Broadcasting, it was unable to go through with the acquisition of the television and telephone company. When fact-checked rumors spread about faults in security, regarding a British source, News of the World, being criminally hacked, losing privacy in phone records, it caused News Corp to remove its offer one year later, in July 2011.
On June 28, 2012, Rupert Murdoch
Outcome
Although News Corp and 21st Century Fox were stable and had gained mainstream popularity, this ended abruptly after Murdoch's announcement in 2013. As Murdoch held positions of chairman at both News Corp and 21st Century Fox, following the split, News Corp itself had a strong focus on publishing journals, articles, and books. 21st Century Fox focused on broadcasts, television, and film production. Although it appears as an equal split, on the first day of trading, Fox went up over 2% while News Corp plummeted 5%.[51] This difference in stocks represents how people shifted toward digital news and entertainment, and had left paper-copies in the past.
By becoming separate companies, the management teams gain control over specific needs and goals. This is significant because it allows for more strategic moves within a single company, leading to improved efficiency and customized needs.[52] Although splitting the companies has not solved the main issue of improving each company, both companies were given an opportunity to develop and grow on their own. Following the British news breach of security, the amount of backlash influenced the need to part ways.[53]
After News Corp split with 21st Century Fox, News Corp lost most of its power and stopped generating as much wealth. In the U.K., specifically the department that Rebekah Brooks runs, had a decrease in revenue of 10% in 2023 alone.
Succession
In September 2024, Rupert Murdoch applied to a Nevada probate court to remove voting rights from his children other than Lachlan, as set out in the irrevocable family trust. The other siblings, Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch, are more moderate politically than their father or brother, and Rupert was keen to keep the conservative political leanings in his media outlets.[49] On December 9, 2024, The New York Times reported that the court had ruled against Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, who, the probate commissioner wrote, had acted in bad faith when trying to change the trust.[63][64]
Assets
The company consists of the former News Corporation's newspaper and book publishing assets, together with the digital real-estate advertising properties that are now its largest business.[23][65]
See also
- Succession of Rupert Murdoch, a 2024 court case
External links
References
- Mark Sweeney. 'Blood in the water': where next for the Murdoch empire, and what about the succession? The Guardian, April 28, 2023^
- News Corporation FY 2025 Annual Report Form (10-K) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, August 6, 2025, retrieved August 7, 2025^
- 10-K