Is News Corp trying to sell MySpace? Given the social network's traffic slide (visits halved in six months, according to TechCrunch EU) it's pretty likely to end up going the same way as Bebo.
Photo by blmurch on Flickr. Some rights reserved
But not yet, if you believe News Corp's digital chief Jonathan Miller. He told a conference yesterday that reports of any sale are "fabrications" and said "we are definitely not in any ongoing talks for a sale of MySpace".
Instead, MySpace is heading for a relaunch later this year - perhaps make or break for the fading star of MySpace. Reuters recaps how the site has lost three top executives in four months, including former Facebook top honcho Owen Van Natta, and user numbers have dropped off despite the sensible but long overdue restructure that focused around the site's music service.
MySpace's three-year, $900m ad deal with Google for the site's advertising expires next month, and News Corp is reportedly in talks with Microsoft, Yahoo and with Google about a replacement deal.
We can bet this one will be for far less money, now that Facebook is the darling of the social networking space. And we can also bet News Corp will want to get this deal and the MySpace relaunch tied up before putting MySpace up for sale, so they can scrape maximum cash for it. Any of the music labels fancy taking a punt?
• Meanwhile Rosie Swash on our Music Blog asks where the kids are going to listen to music online now that MySpace is wilting.
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