Media business

Rupert Murdoch and Wendy in town for a shmooze

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn, November 11, 2006 12:42 PM

You can't do it your way Rupert

Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendy Deng are in Beijing for a little shmoozing, perhaps connected with News Corp's increasingly frequent noises about wanting to bring MySpace.com to China. This is how the People's Daily reported it:

Liu Yunshan, head of the Public Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said Friday that he hoped media mogul Rupert Murdoch will make more efforts to enhance cooperation with Chinese media.
In meeting with Murdoch, Liu, also member of the Political Bureau and of the Secretariat of CPC Central Committee, appreciated the active work Murdoch has done in advancing cooperation with China's news media.

Liu said he hoped News Corp. will continue to promote understanding between China and the rest of the world.

Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corp., said his company will further strengthen cooperative ties with the Chinese media and make contributions to publicize the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Murdoch and his party were invited by the Information Office of the State Council to visit the country from Nov. 9 to 12.

Danwei has one word of advice for our mentor Mr Murdoch about bringing MySpace to China: Don't!

The Chinese Internet is a shark tank, and MySpace would be eaten alive by everyone from Sina and Mop to Wangyou and Tudou to Tianya, Douban, Xici Hutong and Bokee.

Build or buy something locally: there are plenty of promising startups, and a few mature web businesses that News Corp could partner with.

There are currently 7 Comments for Rupert Murdoch and Wendy in town for a shmooze.

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Comments on Rupert Murdoch and Wendy in town for a shmooze

What does Danwei have against Mr. Murdoch and News Corp.?

Posted by: FRITZ | November 12, 2006 9:40 AM

Danwei has nothing against Mr. Murdoch: in fact we seek to learn from him, and repeatedly call him our mentor.

News Corp is a major foreign media power; Murdoch has repeatedly made it clear that he wants to break into China's media market and is prepared to do almost anything to make it happen. Such admirable chutzpah!

But we think MySpace China is a really bad business idea.

Posted by: Jeremy | November 12, 2006 11:19 AM

I agree with Danwei. Dont.
No foreigner Internet companies have gained a good score in China market. yahoo, msn, ebay, even google.

Posted by: lemon | November 12, 2006 1:15 PM

China Mobile and News Corp are launching a new 'wireless music service', their first co-op since the June 8th agreement. Could be what Ruppie is in town for. God knows what it does though - I sense increasing numbers of Supergirls ringtones, and other things that'll annoy me on the subway....

Posted by: Charlie | November 12, 2006 8:15 PM

I would however appreciate it if Mr. Murdoch could get the profile pages from the English language version of MySpace unblocked here in Liaoning Province.

Posted by: Brian | November 12, 2006 9:45 PM

What does the article mean when it says that China will eat it alive? too many users? could someone explain to me please?

[EDITOR'S NOTE (JG): I mean that Chinese competitors will make it very difficult for News Corp to replicate MySpace's success in China]

Posted by: David | November 13, 2006 7:52 AM

I agree with Danwei. Myspace would get slaughtered in China. There is no technology or content that is challenging to copy, and it's usership is very culturally-shaded. Buy something local and develop it. Murdoch is a little far removed from both the technology and the cultureS (China, youth, internet, etc) that will drive this. His instincts about the potential of social networking in China is right -- his approach is disastrous.

Posted by: Andrew | November 13, 2006 10:00 AM