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Guess the killer in Snapchat’s murder mystery show
Tomorrow, Snapchat will debut its latest show, the scripted murder mystery series Solve, that invites the audience to guess the killer. Each four-minute episode dramatizes a real crime and asks viewers who the culprit was before revealing the truth -- and how everyone else voted.
Murdoch's Sky takeover blocked by UK competition watchdog
Rupert Murdoch has been blocked by the UK's competition watchdog from completing a full buyout of Sky. The media tycoon, which already owns 21st Century Fox and a range of newspapers including The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun, launched a £11.7 billion ($14.6 billion) takeover bid in December 2016. If successful, it would give the Murdoch family full control of Sky News, as well as the company's extensive TV, internet and phone businesses in the UK. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) rejected the idea, however, due to "media plurality" concerns, or how much power the resulting company would have over public opinion.
Rupert Murdoch wants Facebook to pay 'trusted' publishers for content
Facebook has plans to tweak its News Feed to include more posts from friends and family and less from news publishers in an attempt to fix some of the platform's problems. Now news magnate Rupert Murdoch thinks that the social network should adopt a pay-TV model and start paying "trusted" publishers for content.
Sky could sacrifice Sky News to ensure Fox merger
While the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigates the potential merger with Fox, Sky has warned that it may be forced to close down Sky News if it obstructs the approval of the deal. In a submission to the CMA last month, which was released this week, Sky told the regulator that it would "would likely be prompted to review" its position "in the event that the continued provision of Sky News in its current form unduly impeded merger and/or other corporate opportunities available in relation to Sky's broader business".
Sky receives takeover bid from 21st Century Fox
21st Century Fox is in advanced talks to buy Sky, a major telecoms player and the biggest pay-TV provider in the UK. Negotiations are underway and the directors of both companies have reached an "agreement" of £10.75 per share. As Bloomberg reports, the deal values Sky at £18.5 billion ($23.2 billion). Fox already owns 39 percent of Sky, and media mogul Rupert Murdoch has tried to buy the remaining slice before. A takeover in 2010 was eventually abandoned, however, after News Corporation (now known as 21st Century Fox) was embroiled in a huge phone hacking scandal.
The Daily celebrates a year with 100,000 paid subscribers on iPad
One of the iPad's first regular periodical publications (if not the first one) The Daily launched a year ago. It's been a fairly rocky year. Originally, the Rupert Murdoch-funded app hoped it could get at least half a million subscriptions to keep its publication going; a few months ago we heard that there were 120,000 daily readers, and now Mashable says the paper boasts 100,000 paid subscribers. Despite not nearly reaching its original goal, The Daily still seems to be rolling on. Publisher Greg Clayman says that when the app originally launched, the goal was to make an experience unique to the tablet. That's why The Daily began only on the iPad and has only recently added content on the Android platform, via the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Clayman says that while the company has kept its choice of platforms slim, The Daily has been delivering on its promise to break news; it was the first to report on the story of Paula Deen having diabetes and Alec Baldwin wanting to run for mayor in New York. Clayman says that The Daily is still headed for profitability "over the next couple of years," which he says is actually better than most traditional publications. The Daily might not have the readership that it hoped to have, but a year into its existence Clayman seems optimistic about the publication's future. "We now have a fully baked, fully functional app CMS, and a large, engaged readership," he says. "A year ago we were asking how to build the boat. Now it's about understanding the best way to steer the boat."
The Daily trial extended to the end of February
Several TUAW readers have noticed that the trial version of The Daily has been extended through February 28. When the app debuted on February 2, Verizon announced that it was sponsoring a two-week free trial. This also brought forth the rumor of the public release of iOS 4.3 within that time frame. It's been nearly two weeks, but it hasn't happened. So, why has the trial been extended? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below. I think it has less to do with the public release of iOS 4.3 and more with the fact that so many people are becoming disenchanted with The Daily that the publishers want more of a chance to prove themselves before people delete it -- and the potential revenue -- off their iPads completely. [via MacRumors]
The Daily iPad 'newspaper' launches, $.99 weekly or $39.99 per year
Rupert Murdoch's iPad-only magazine The Daily, once described as "The New York Post Goes to College," is now a go. Launched at a New York event this morning, it pledges to offer "the best of traditional journalism" with "the best of contemporary technology" like 360 degree photos and, naturally, lots of fancy multimedia content that is all pushed directly to the iPad every day. It's priced at $.99 per week or $39.99 annually and launches today, unsurprisingly with Egypt taking the "cover" image. The team behind the new-age zine showed off plenty of that technology, including a magazine-like reading interface, letting you flip through pages, and a "carousel," that gives you a higher-level view of the pages for easier browsing. The Daily also includes audio versions, with professional voiceover so you won't have to worry about GPS voice, plus video overviews of all the content if you just don't have time for reading or listening. You can share stuff you like on Twitter or Facebook and others will be able to read those stories for free via the web -- but not all the content, naturally. The site will offer app reviews and features with links right to the App Store. Sports fans get full schedules and news updates for the teams they like. Again, The Daily launches today, and we're told that the first two weeks will be courtesy of Verizon. Good on ya, VZW! Update: It's now available in the App Store.
News Corp and Apple set date for The Daily launch: February 2nd
The Daily, News Corp's iPad-specific news"paper," is living up to speculation about an early February inauguration with the announcement of a launch event on February 2nd. CEO Rupert Murdoch is explicitly mentioned on the invite, though Apple's presence will be fulfilled by Eddy Cue, presumably a late draft-in to substitute for his company's CEO, Steve Jobs, who's currently out on medical leave. Even without the great Apple orator, we expect the arrival of the first tablet-only news outlet to be a significant event, so we'll be strapping on our liveblogging gear and heading out to the Guggenheim Museum for a looksie. You'll join us in spirit, won't you?
'The Daily' iPad newspaper set for launch, according to sources (update)
The good old Associated Press has a couple of good old unnamed sources pinpointing the launch of The Daily -- the first iPad-only newspaper venture -- as January 19th. They even name the location as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is the company making this leap into the unknown (do people even care about news anymore?) and he is specifically named as a presenter at this alleged event for next week, to be joined on stage by Apple's Steve Jobs. An ancillary little note is that journalists are said to have already been hired in bureaus across the country, including the big news-spinning markets of New York and Los Angeles -- which makes all the sense in the world given the widespread expectation that the news app they'll be working for will launch by the end of this month. Update: Did we say the end of this month? Looks like The Daily's more likely to debut in early February instead -- News Corporation confirmed to All Things D that the iPad news service has been delayed, and an unnamed source says that it will be "weeks, not months" before we see it emerge again.
News Corp's 'The Daily' pub to hit iPad in January?
We heard News Corp's "iPad newspaper" The Daily was on track for release in early 2011, but AllThingsD is hearing something more specific -- week of January 17th, in fact, with the caveat that the launch plans have "moved around a couple of times in the past few months." From what we've gathered previously, The Daily will be published daily (surprise, surprise) and cost 99 cents per week (about $4.25 per month) and might leverage a new App Store subscription payment system that could be announced at an Apple event. So... nothing definitive, really. Got that? Good.
WSJ iPad subscription sets you back $17.29 per month
You know that free Wall Street Journal iPad app that was introduced yesterday? If you want anything more than the top articles and basic market data you'll need to fork out US$17.29 per month. That's what an iPad WSJ subscription will cost you. That's $3.99 per week. Engadget is quick to point out that a subscription to both the print and online versions of the WSJ will only run you $2.69 a week. The Wall Street Journal is offering full access to the WSJ iPad app for free "for a limited time" to current subscribers of the print and online editions so technically, you can save $6 to $9 a month and get access to the full iPad app if you just sign up for their paper. It's that "for a limited time" that's iffy though. Does that mean one month or six? We all know Murdoch loves the iPad, but man Rupert, you're entering a whole new category of digital distribution. Why price people out of wanting to try out the whole experience?
Murdoch confirms WSJ coming to iPad, device kept 'under padlock and key'
It only came at the tail end of an announcement of a new New York metro section for The Wall Street Journal, but Rupert Murdoch has finally confirmed that the paper will indeed be heading to the iPad. The really interesting bit, however, is that not only is the company now being allowed to work on an iPad, but that Murdoch says it's kept "under padlock and key," and that "the key is turned by Apple every night" -- a bit of hyperbole, maybe, but then again, maybe not. In other newspapers-going-digital news, Murdoch also said that the WSJ would be heading to half a dozen or more other devices within a year, although he didn't name any specific devices.
Rupert Murdoch confirms WSJ for iPad
Rupert Murdoch has confirmed, in a Q & A following his announcement of a New York 'metro' section for the Wall Street Journal, that an app for the iPad is under development (WSJ story here, behind the paywall). There's an iPhone app available now, and it's expected that the iPad version will expand upon it, with attention being paid to the iPad's big screen. What's most interesting about this story is the extreme secrecy with which Apple is handing the process. it seems that WSJ developers do have access to a pre-release iPad, which Murdoch confirms is "kept under padlock and key." Not only that, but an Apple employee turns the key every night to confirm that the iPad is where it should be -- locked up tight, safe and sound. Not even preferred developers have earned Apple's full trust. Apple paranoid? We can't imagine such a thing. [via MacNN]
Rupert Murdoch: Amazon now 'willing to renegotiate' e-book prices
You didn't think the price hike would stop at Macmillan, did you? In today's News Corp. earnings call, chairman Rupert Murdoch gave indication that his HarperCollins would also soon be changing its e-book prices with Amazon. As relayed by All Things D, the mogul has been unhappy with the $9.99 tier, that Apple's iBookstore "does allow some flexibility and higher prices," and here's the kicker: "And now Amazon is willing to sit down with us again and renegotiate." Nothing's changed yet, but we gotta imagine it's only a matter of time -- not just with HarperCollins, but probably all "big six" publishers before too long.
Rupert Murdoch staying out of the e-reader business, Red Eye sadly still on the air
With the news biz in obvious (and some might say terminal) disarray, of course folks in the industry will be seeking out ways to stay afloat in the age of the e-reader -- and it's long been rumored that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is looking to launch a device of its own (if by "long" you mean "since early April or thereabouts"). When asked yesterday if this was the case, Murdoch answered: "I don't think that's likely. We're looking and talking to a lot of laboratories and big companies around the world like Sony, Fujitsu, Samsung. We're all working on wireless readers for books or for newspapers or for magazines. I think they're a year or two away, being marketed in a mass way, high quality ones. And we will be absolutely neutral. We're very happy to have our products distributed over any device provided it's only going to subscribers who are paying for it." Of course, the man may have some sort of diabolical scheme up his sleeve (when doesn't he, really?), but for the time being, he says, the Wall Street Journal is doing "very well... you've got the wallstreetjournal.com and you pay for it. And there is 1.25 million people nearly who are doing that. And we get a lot of advertising with it. It's a big business for us." So it's more likely that we'll see more News Corp papers adopting an online subscription model before the advent of any Fox News e-ink device. But if it does get in the hardware business, we'll gladly shell out for a Glenn Beck signature model. But only if it's ironic. [Via GigaOM]
DirecTV CEO resigning effective July 1
Turns out the rumors were correct, DirecTV has officially announced CEO Chase Carey is resigning as of July 1, and a search for a successor is "under way." Of course, there's no word if the subsequent speculation that the company's next move after its spinoff/merger is a sale to AT&T is at all accurate, but we're sure there will be plenty of viewpoints on the subject in the weeks and months to come.
Report: Rupert Murdoch forms global team, looks into hardware for content revenue stream
In case you didn't think Rupert Murdoch was serious about e-book readers before, The Daily Beast has it from its sources that the News Corp mogul has assembled a global team, with members hailing form London, New York, and Sydney, to find some way to better monetize / charge for online content. Unsurprisingly, that leads to hardware and possibly creating a more "user-friendly way" to deliver content that'll incentivize consumers to pay -- Kindle does it, Hearst wants to do it, so why not the world's biggest media conglomerate? As for the mythical device itself, let's recap what we've heard so far, from the man himself: a bigger screen than Amazon's now-antiquated models, a four-color pallette, and"you can get everything there." Now how about putting a name to the manufacturer, hm? [Via Electronista]
Murdoch not quite ready to jump on the iTunes bandwagon
Have you ever watched The Office? Me neither -- not until it showed up on iTunes, I mean. I tried watching it once on TV, but the Siren-like seductiveness of my beautifully-curved TiVo remote took hold of my consciousness, prompting me to change the channel to something a little more...I don't know, entertaining. I don't even remember the episode I was watching. All I can recall thinking was the typical "I don't get it" -- I joined the show five minutes in, and three minutes later there was a commercial break, leaving me grasping for anything that may hint at the purpose of this slow-starting, 100%-dialogue-dependent comedy.I never bothered watching again...that is, until my brother downloaded an episode from iTunes, nearly relapsed to his old habit of bed-wetting because of laughter (joke!), and forced me to sit down and share with the him the joy of a formerly-British sitcom starring the guy who romanticized the notion of a 40-year-old man living alone with a video game chair and wall-to-wall action figures. The flexibility of watching this show When I Wanted, Where I Wanted developed in me a newfound appreciation for its Genius -- something I can honestly say would never have happened if it was limited to the confines of TV schedule. And, as we've seen, I'm not the only one learning about this comedy-fest via iTunes -- it's gotten so popular because of online downloads, NBC bumped the once-faltering show to a primetime Thursday slot.Which makes you think things are Going Well -- until, of course, a media exec slaps you in face, chastising you for foolishly believing that content companies are starting to "get it." This time, it's News Corp's holy founder, Rupert Murdoch, who says iTunes and its video distribution deals are "very small-time at the moment," citing the iPod's small display as a reason people may not want to shell out $2 an episode for something they could see for free on TV.You'd think he'd look at successes like The Office and put the whole concept into perspective: FOX has little to lose by putting its shows on iTunes, and a heckuva lot to gain: revenue, ratings, interest, etc. A Fox/iTunes distribution deal could be huge for both News Corp and Apple -- and the only thing holding it back is Murdoch's RIAA-styled fear of the future (that, or he's got his own scheme in the works, which I certainly wouldn't put past him).Whatever. I just want my Family Guy.[via CNet]
