Categories

open all | close all

Sponsored By:

Still Going Internet: MySpace, News Corporation, Google, Yahoo, Etc.

Read more articles on Finance and Movies, visual media.

February 7, 2007

Posted by neillevine

About This Editor: I am a writer. Have been writing for other sites, but expect to do most of my future work HERE! My expertise extends from the esoteric such as burning hydrogen to the unpredictability of the stock market and my writing makes me a jack of all trades and exasperated master of none. I have had some influence over national wildfire and water policy and there are hints of a change in energy policy, BUT as Samuel Goldwyn once said, "A verbal promise is not worth the paper it is written on."

         

For those who want perspective and insight on the stock market, an example of how profitable a good internet web site can be, MySpace, the most notable of News Corporation’s, NWS-A, internet subsidiaries, is making financial news again because there are negotiations with eBay, EBAY, to enable sales by MySpace members of merchandise to one another in an eBay type set-up that comes under the category “peer commerce.”

As an example of how lucrative the internet can be to large companies, News Corporation paid $630 million for MySpace in 2005, then turned around and signed a three year advertising deal with Google, GOOG, to use Google’sr search and advertising technology on MySpace in return for $900 million.

News Corporation’s internet properties, MySpace being the largest, are expected to generate $500 in revenue in the fiscal year ending June 30.

Talk about fast growth and big potential profits.

This also illustrates why search share is so important. In December, the rankings were Google with over 50%, Yahoo, YHOO, with 24%, MSN with 8%, AOL with 6% and 12% for others. While AOL currently is a Google customer, Yahoo is currently rolling out a new and improved search advertising system to better compete.

This growth in internet search and other services has spurred Cisco, CSCO, to a 27% increase in sales and a robust 36% increase in profits with the Scientific-Atlanta, maker of cable set-top boxes, acquisition, contributing its share. It should be obvious that with all the movement by companies like Wal-Mart, Amazon, Yahoo and so on towards on demand video over the internet, you can get a good idea of where Cisco is headed in the future.

With this in mind, General Electric, GE, apparently is lining up Jeff Zucker to succeed Bob Wright as the head of its $26.4 billion NBC Universal unit and may or may not do something with this unit depending on what the future holds.

Finally, Amazon, AMZN, has announced a plan to team up with TiVo to allow people to download television shows and movies from the web onto their TiVo boxes.

Is this the sound of music or is it Al Jolson announcing, “You ain’ heard nothing yet.”