Internet

Rupert Murdoch’s cool new thing

24 June 2006

Edie G. Lush says that MySpace, the online social network, is another money-spinner for the great media mogul

So it is no surprise that Fox is launching a new television station that will be closely linked with MySpace. My Network TV will be the first new US terrestrial television service in more than a decade. Its accompanying website will allow users to send clips of programmes to each other via mobile phones and email, and will host a ‘casting call’ section for budding actors. MySpace will play a major role in promoting the new channel.

Advertising also plays a big part in the MySpace strategy. In the next few months a deal is expected to be signed with either Google or Microsoft to supply internet searches on MySpace pages, alongside advertisements tied to the search results. Such deals involve advertising revenue being split between the two sides, with the company providing the audience for the ads usually gaining most of the revenue.

It isn’t a huge leap to imagine a world in which ads will be targeted specifically at you, based on your listening and viewing profile. In fact, it’s already happening. MySpace and other sites can track what music listeners select, and suggest other bands they might enjoy. Whole websites such as Pandora and Last.fm are designed specifically for this purpose. Some of these sites allow you to link up with people who enjoy similar music and listen to the music they like via personalised radio stations. All the while the website providers are building up a profile of your likes, dislikes and moods at different times of the day. They can use this data to deliver highly targeted advertising direct to you, charging a significant premium to the advertiser.