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2013 MARCH BOARD & MEMBERS MEETING
A Conversation with James Murdoch Conducted by Jon Miller March 15, 2013 The University Club, New York. Jon Miller, former CEO of digital media at News Corporation, conducted a Q&A with James Murdoch, deputy COO. Here is an excerpt from their conversation.
MILLER: What I’d like to do is start with television around the world. As you’ll see, James has experience in many different places. We’ll use that as a jumping off point on some larger issues of strategy and some digital things. But just to set up, one of the things I admire about News Corp., and I always have, and I recently finished up there after approximately 4 years, is that News Corp. is an operator of businesses around the world, Jon Miller in conversation with James Murdoch media businesses around the world. It’s not like what I believe a lot of U.S. media companies are, terms of going from a pan-regional Asian broadcaster in which is they export stuff that they’ve made in the U.S. to the ‘90s with five channels broadcasting to 53 countries other parts of the world. News Corp. operates businesses and all of that sort of business. When I was there from the around the world. And really, James has been very much at end of ‘99 or early 2000, we really took a very different the heart of that, as Chairman and Chief Executive of STAR, view and said, we’re actually going to localize these busiChairman and Chief Executive of BSkyB, Chairman and nesses very, very dramatically and we’re going to invest in Chief Executive of News International, and I’m sure I’m forour key regions and where we thought there were real getting others… in addition to being Deputy Chief Operopportunities. The biggest example of that is what we did ating Officer of the parent [company]. So James has really in India, to really drive the business in India with local chanhad on-the-ground operating experience in television nels in multiple languages. We did that from scratch, investaround the world, in many cases as businesses were birthed, ing quite a lot in local production with a lot of creative with new satellite and cable and digital technologies. So partners in India and then through acquisition as well. And what I’d like to do is kind of go around the world a little bit today we have across the network, before you include and talk about some of the things that he’s been involved in sports, probably 20 percent of the market share. and he’s seen. If it’s okay with you James, I’ll start with STAR. So, STAR, probably, and you’ll tell me if you agree with this, MILLER: Is that the largest of any single broadcaster? probably decided—and you were part of this of course— MURDOCH: Yes. So it’s been a great journey. In India in the to really double down on India and I’d love for you to talk late ‘90s there were some 40 million analog cable television about what you saw there, and probably not to emphasize households and now the number is three times that. And at least at this time on China as much, and I’d also love for there is a lot of digital cable and digital direct-to-home satelyou to say why. lite as well. It’s been a real transformation. And I think you MURDOCH: Well, first of all, I just want to say again, thank can contrast that very clearly with [China], which has been you, and thank you, Jon for doing this and for your very gravery, very different, very challenging from a regulatory percious introduction. We’ve been in Asia substantially just spective. We wanted to invest with some partners in China. coming up on 20 years. We bought the first part of STAR We’re a shareholder of Phoenix, one the largest independTV in ‘91 and then completed in ‘93 the next piece of it. ent broadcasters there. But really the opportunity wasn’t And it’s been a real journey. It’s been a real learning in going to be open to us to create a real Chinese broadcaster International Emmy Almanac 2013/2014
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