Why Murdoch Wants Dow Jones (and Why CNBC Should Sweat)

From Internet Outsider

Well, yes, there’s some diversification for News Corp (geographical and business-line), and, yes, there is perhaps the ability to fire up the financial performance of an ancient family-controlled company, but, more important, there’s also the instantaneous injection of credibility and content into FOX’s future business-news channel.

Today’s financial TV leader, CNBC, has been understandably nervous about FOX’s entry into the market (look at what FOX did to the incumbents in an apparently unassailable three-network TV monopoly a decade or two ago).  Until now, however, the assumption was that the FOX business formula would be "hire beautiful women to read shocking headlines."  This strategy would certainly allow FOX to run away with some of the viewership (beautiful women reading to testosterone- and adrenalin-filled men is not a lousy gameplan), but CNBC would likely position itself as the "prestigious" and "thoughtful" business channel.

If Rupert is successful in his Dow Jones bid, however, CNBC will look comparatively like business-lite.  The sharp, telegenic Wall Street Journal reporters who now provide CNBC with some of its pith will provide it to FOX’s business channel instead.  Executives who want to reach the greatest number of influential leaders will speak first to News/Dow Jones/Marketwatch/FOX Business News–and thus cover all their media bases–instead of to CNBC.  And the combination of MySpace/Marketwatch/Wall Street Journal Online would give News Corp a very credible Internet platform on which to repurpose much of the resulting video, audio, and text content (a la Bloomberg).  Since CNBC/NBC has no Internet platform, the TV brand would become increasingly isolated and marginalized.

So the folks at CNBC are presumably hoping that the Dow Jones Bancrofts will snicker at $60 a share and tell Rupert to get lost.

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