News Corp. sells MySpace to Specific Media for $35M

[PorkChopSandwiches]

News Corp. on Wednesday agreed to sell troubled social media site MySpace to Specific Media for about $35 million, Bloomberg News reported, citing a source familiar with the situation.

It also said News Corp. would maintain a 5 percent stake in the site.

News Corp. paid $580 million in 2005 for MySpace -- once a pioneer in social networking -- but soon lost ground to Facebook, now the world's No. 1 social networking site.

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Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[RBP]

wow that's low.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Well they did do a good job of ruining the site.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Myspace sold to Orange County-based ad network

June 29, 2011 | 11:43 am

Myspace, once the dominant social networking site on the Internet but now an afterthought to Facebook, will be sold to Specific Media in a deal worth $35 million in cash and stock, a person familiar with the matter said.

The acquisition by the Irvine-based advertising network is expected to be completed Wednesday.

News Corp., which acquired Myspace in 2005 for $580 million as part of a bold digital strategy, plans to retain a small stake in company. The media conglomerate had hoped to fetch as much as $100 million for the site, which has been steadily shedding users and advertising revenue over the last several years.

The sale marks a significant fall from grace for Myspace, which once commanded a billion-dollar valuation and was the premiere online hangout for musicians, actors and their fans to interact. But the site peaked in popularity in October of 2008 with 76.3 million users. The number of monthly visitors has since dwindled to 35 million in May, according to ComScore Digital Analytix.

Other potential bidders for the site included Myspace co-founder Chris DeWolfe, and an investor group that was courting a personal investment from Activision Blizzard Inc. Chief Executive Bobby Kotick.

The little-known new owner Specific Media was founded in 1999 by Tim Vanderhook and his brothers, Chris and Russell. The firm helps companies distribute advertising online, on mobile devices and on Internet-connected televisions.

Specific Media wants to return the site to its roots as a place for music fans to discover new bands and songs, according to the person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private.

-- Dawn C. Chmielewski

[AntZ]

I hear Facebook is on the decline as well! Twitter is the new cool.

[Hal-9000]

I haven't Twitted...and I rarely go on Fuckbook any more

Myspace was such a cool idea at the outset..we all could have our own little page on the net and adjust the look/layout etc.
Then it got like FB...invasive and throttled with advertising

[Godfather]

I can't believe Myspace is still considered to be worth $35 mil Napster is more interesting at this point

[DemonGeminiX]

In my opinion, all of that social networking crap is a waste of time. You can keep in touch with your friends via email or via cellphone. And forget that twitter shit. No one needs to know what I'm doing every other minute, and I don't need to tell them, either.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

In my opinion, all of that social networking crap is a waste of time. You can keep in touch with your friends via email or via cellphone. And forget that twitter shit. No one needs to know what I'm doing every other minute, and I don't need to tell them, either.