• yahoo

    Who'll replace Jerry Yang? Chernin hot, Decker not

    Why would the President and COO of News Corp. take a job running Yahoo? Money, of course, but does Yahoo have that much? Nonetheless, relentless Yahoo blogger Kara Swisher reports that Peter Chernin is "the No. 1 choice of most inside and outside Yahoo." Swisher says Yahoo's current President, Sue Decker, is being "considered" for the job, which in Valleyspeak means she's not being considered at all. Kara lists another seven potential Chief Yahoos. Kara's even more obsessive about Yahoo than Owen, so you click her and I'll go back to looking for caption contests.

    8:05 AM on Tue Nov 18 2008
    By Paul Boutin
    2,082 views, 8 comments

    Most discussed valleymonger: my vote goes to Dan Rosensweig! more »

  • exits

    Jerry Yang out as Yahoo CEO

    Yahoo founder Jerry Yang is stepping down as CEO, and a search is underway for a replacement after a tumultuous 18 months on the job. Which is curious. In a recent interview, Yang had just told AllThingsD's Kara Swisher, "In this uncertain environment, I think I am absolutely the right person" to lead Yahoo. He must have changed his mind; Swisher reports that the decision was a "mutual" one made by Yang and Yahoo's board of directors. Either Yang was lying to Swisher, or he was deceived about the board's lack of support for him. Executive recruiter Heidrick & Struggles is conducting a search for Yang's replacement. Finding a successor to Yang will be difficult — not because Yang is irreplaceable, but because he has made such a mess of things that it will be hard to persuade a capable executive to risk their reputation fixing it. More »

    5:00 PM on Mon Nov 17 2008
    By Owen Thomas
    7,531 views, 18 comments

    Most discussed bittergreen: Jerry Yang reminds me of William Hung. more »

  • advertising

    MySpace launches a self-serve ad network, hopes you like banners

    Two weeks after News Corp COO Peter Chernin told an audience in New York that MySpace ads are ahead of target, the site launched a self-serve ad system at advertising.myspace.com. Aimed primarily at musicians and small businesses, the ads start at a $25 minimum for a campaign. The big difference from Google's AdWords: MySpace ads only link to other MySpace pages. Here's a summary of Mashable's writeup on the system: More »

    9:00 PM on Tue Sep 23 2008
    By Paul Boutin
    588 views, 4 comments

    Most discussed transparency: Hours after, or two weeks after. Who's counting? MySpace ad business ahead of target: News Corp Tue Sep 9, 2008 7:39pm EDT more »

  • online advertising

    3 reasons nobody buys ads on MySpace unless they have to

    News Corp. COO Peter Chernin told Wall Street investors yesterday that social network MySpace is selling ads "above where we expected" and better than the rest of the marketplace. Which is funny, because a Madison Avenue's interactive ad agency exec was just telling me the other day that "you buy MySpace only if you have to. If there's an alternative, go for it." There are three reasons why. More »

    9:40 AM on Wed Sep 10 2008
    By Nicholas Carlson
    2,505 views, 5 comments

    Latest by jemacd: I think we live in an age where the term targeting is being abused so frequently it will eventually not more »

  • myspace

    Eric Schmidt admits MySpace remains junk

    Back in August 2006, when Google agreed to pay News Corp. $900 million to serve ads against MySpace, News Corp. COO Peter Chernin bragged, "Whoever said it remains to be seen whether we can monetize [MySpace], hopefully it's a little clearer this week." Almost two years later, "monetizing" MySpace seems more difficult than ever. At least, according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "MySpace did not monetize as well as we thought," Schmidt told a German reporter.
    We have a lot of traffic, a lot of page views, but it is harder than we thought to get our ad network to work with social networks. When you are in social network, it is not likely that you'll buy a washing machine. It is not a long term problem but it is taking us longer than we thought.

    8:40 AM on Wed May 28 2008
    By Nicholas Carlson
    1,101 views, 7 comments

    Latest by GhostSites: The context of social networks militates against Google-style ads ever working. Commerce-related clicks (responsible for 80 percent of GOOG's revenues) more »

  • online advertising

    A MySpace advertiser responds to News Corp.'s excuses

    When News Corp. announced its Fox Interactive division — the unit built around MySpace — would miss its targets, COO Peter Chernin offered three excuses reasons why. Since we noted them yesterday, an agency exec whose clients advertise on MySpace took a moment to respond to Chernin's three points: More »

    12:40 PM on Fri May 9 2008
    By Nicholas Carlson
    1,134 views, 1 comment

    Latest by raincoaster: I don't know why this post hasn't gotten more attention. If you're in the online space and advertising is important more »

  • online advertising

    News Corp. exec explains why MySpace traffic rose, revenues dropped

    Somehow, Fox Interactive revenues dropped last quarter despite traffic to MySpace, the News Corp. Web unit's main property, growing. News Corp. chairman Peter Chernin offered three excuses:
    • MySpace users click around so much and create so many pageviews that ad inventory supply outweighs advertiser demand.
    • It's hard to tell why a particular user is using MySpace, so targeting ads are difficult.
    • FIM is having a hard time coming up with convincing metrics to sell advertisers on the value of a friend's recommendation.
    What Chernin didn't explain: Which of these excuses didn't hold true for the previous quarter, when revenues were higher.

    9:00 AM on Thu May 8 2008
    By Nicholas Carlson
    393 views, 2 comments

    Latest by ashkan: It's not that strange for an ad-supported site to clock in more revenues in the Oct-Nov-Dec quarter than the Jan-Feb-Mar more »

  • deals

    Chernin and Murdoch protest talks with Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL too much

    How badly does News Corp. want to move MySpace out the door? During yesterday's quarterly earnings call with analysts, News Corp. president and COO Pete Chernin and chairman Rupert Murdoch said they haven't discussed a merging properties with Microsoft, AOL or Yahoo in quite some time. Like maybe 14 days. Chernin: "I have not had a conversation with Microsoft or AOL in a couple of weeks." Rupert Murdoch "Nor have I." Silicon Alley Insider doesn't believe the disclaimers, reminding us that at the end of the last quarter, Murdoch denied interest in Yahoo even as he'd ordered a team to make the deal happen.

    7:20 AM on Thu May 8 2008
    By Nicholas Carlson
    461 views, Comment

  • earnings

    News Corp.'s Chernin on Fox Interactive's $1 billion target: "Yes, we will fall short"

    Fox Interactive Media, News Corp.'s Web division overseeing properties including MySpace, Photobucket and Rotten Tomatoes, saw its revenues drop in the second quarter to $210 million., from $233 million in the previous quarter. News Corp. president and COO told analysts today that the division would not meet its $1 billion revenue goal for its fiscal year, likely coming up $100 million short. He began the call: "Let me begining by saying yes, we will fall short of what were very aggressive projections." Insiders whisper that News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch set the numbers high to put pressure on MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe. DeWolfe and MySpace friend-in-chief Tom Anderson signed a two-year, $30 million contract last fall to continue running the site. More »

    3:40 PM on Wed May 7 2008
    By Nicholas Carlson
    539 views, Comment

  • deals

    MySpace pair get $50 million for losing ground to Facebook

    A News Corp. source is confirming that MySpace honchos Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe — the site's founders in name, if not in fact — have signed new contracts. How much did it take to keep the pair from bolting MySpace, even as it keeps losing ground to rival social network Facebook? It's been reported the pair demanded two-year deals worth $50 million each, but word is they got about half that. Even then, are they worth it? Here's a graph that will keep News Corp. investors awake at night.
    More »

    10:14 AM on Wed Oct 17 2007
    By Nicholas Carlson
    1,478 views, 3 comments

    Latest by Rock tha Hizzee: First rule of acquisition club? Get rid of the founders! [techmerkin.wordpress.com] more »