'We will crush the FT' says News Corp

Published on Sunday 23 September 2007 00:04

PETER Chernin, the president of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, promised the media giant will "crush" the Financial Times after acquiring its big rival in America.

In his first public comments since agreeing to spend $5bn (2.5bn) on Dow Jones, the owner of the Wall Street Journal, Murdoch's right-hand man fired the first round in the battle to establish the Wall Street Journal as a global financial-news brand. His comments pitch News Corp squarely against Pearson, owner of the Financial Times.

After addressing the biennial conference of the Royal Television Society at Cambridge University last week, Chernin told Scotland on Sunday that Murdoch had no ambition to buy the FT or collaborate with it to accelerate his goal to create a global brand.

The Financial Times dominates the European market and the Wall Street Journal is stronger in North America.

Chernin said: "We don't want to buy the FT. News Corp will crush it."

He dismissed the notion that even a crushed FT would be attractive at a discounted price. "We don't want it," he said.

He also said there was space within the media giant for both the Fox Business Channel, which launches next month, and CNBC, owned by NBC Universal, which has a contract with the Wall Street Journal until 2012.

"The two will compete against each other," he said. "In many ways competition among News Corp businesses has proven to be a healthy thing."

During the conference Chernin told broadcasting delegates that there were big rewards for those that innovate, and that those who did not would be "toast".

He said media groups with established brands were best-placed to guide viewers through the maze of content.

He said: "No one else has the power and no one has as much experience in packaging content to appeal to consumers."