Murdoch: The media mogul is considering a merger in his empire

10/20/22 8:00PM

Empire rebuilding‍

‍91-year-old media mogul Rupert Murdoch is eyeing a reunion of his major assets, exploring the remerging of Fox Corp. and News Corp. almost a decade after splitting them up back in 2013.

Thought to be a precursor to a smooth succession, a combination of the two companies would put a number of influential assets under the same corporate umbrella. Through a family trust, Murdoch controls 39% and 42% of the voting stock in News and Fox Corp., respectively, giving him substantial control over the operations of both companies. But after a number of transactions over the last two decades, what's left in the Murdoch empire?

‍Media mass

‍‍Fox Corp. currently houses most of the TV & cable assets that weren’t sold to Disney back in 2019. The Fox Network, combined with cable programming like Fox Business, Sports and News, brought in nearly $14bn in revenue last year.

‍News Corp., meanwhile, is a broader church. It encompasses digital real estate assets such as the REA Group and Realtor.com, book publishers Harper Collins, and news outlets across the world like the WSJ, Barrons, MarketWatch, The New York Post, The Times and more.

Separated, the two are already mega companies. News Corp.’s market cap is currently just shy of $10bn and Fox Corp.’s is $15.7bn. Together, so the theory goes, they would be a bigger entity with more financial power to take on competitors — an appealing proposition for whichever heir succeeds Murdoch Snr.

The entrance of Allbirds seen from Hayes St. in San Francisco, Calif.

Allbirds, the once buzzy multibillion-dollar sneaker startup, is selling up for $39 million

That’s less than 1% of its peak market cap about four years ago.

Tom Jones9h

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JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

JetBlue Airways raises bag fees as fuel prices soar

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tom Jones

flavor of the month

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Americans won’t tolerate bland food anymore — and it’s turned McCormick into a ~$7 billion-a-year spice and sauce giant

Now, McCormick is eyeing Unilever’s food business.

Bottles of Frank's RedHot Xtra Hot and Sweet Chili on a

Foam party!

Crocs’ prince charming

ByChrisStokel-Walker

FriMar 272026

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Netflix is hiking its prices again

Netflix is raising its subscription prices for the fourth time in four years, a move first spotted by Android Authority.

Per Netflix’s US pricing page, the cost of an ad-supported plan is climbing $1 to $8.99 per month, while the cost of a standard ad-free plan is going up $2 to $19.99 per month. The premium tier has also risen $2 to $26.99 per month.

The streamer last raised its subscription costs more than a year ago in January 2025. It also hiked prices in 2023, 2022, 2020, and 2019. Netflix shares climbed about 2% on the news.

“Our approach remains the same: we continue offering a range of prices and plans to meet a variety of needs, and as we deliver more value to our members we are updating our prices to enable us to reinvest in quality entertainment and improve their experience by updating our prices,” said a Netflix spokesperson, in a statement to Sherwood News.

Netflix is hiking your prices yet again: Standard, premium, and ad-supported all going up