News Corp. Split Signals Twilight for Mega-Mogul Rupert Murdoch

Billionaire mogul Rupert Murdoch‘s plan to split his giant media conglomerate News Corp. into two independent publicly traded companies began to take shape Monday, after the company announced a flurry of management and organizational changes ahead of the breakup. The moves are further evidence of Murdoch’s plan to focus on entertainment assets — he’s making a big push into regional U.S. sports television ahead of a possible national Fox sports network — as News Corp.

In a word: money. For months, News Corp., the media giant conglomerate run by billionaire mogul Rupert Murdoch, has been preparing to launch a new national Fox sports network. On Tuesday, Murdoch finally stepped into the batter’s box. Fox Sports 1, as the company is calling it, presents a direct challenge to ESPN, which dominates cable sports and is one of the most lucrative cable channels on television. Murdoch’s move is just the latest indication that live sporting events have become one of the hottest areas of the media business. The debut of Fox Sports 1 is not a surprise.

In a word: money. For months, News Corp., the media giant conglomerate run by billionaire mogul Rupert Murdoch, has been preparing to launch a new national Fox sports network. On Tuesday, Murdoch finally stepped into the batter’s box. Fox Sports 1, as the company is calling it, presents a direct challenge to ESPN, which dominates cable sports and is one of the most lucrative cable channels on television. Murdoch’s move is just the latest indication that live sporting events have become one of the hottest areas of the media business. The debut of Fox Sports 1 is not a surprise.

Accusations that the firm's News of the World hacked into voice mail accounts overseas are giving new ammunition to critics of mogul Rupert Murdoch and his company on this side of the Atlantic.With the phone-hacking scandal that took down News Corp.'s News of the World tabloid showing no signs of slowing down, media watchdogs and industry observers are starting to wonder whether the flames engulfing media mogul Rupert Murdoch's ambitions in Britain could eventually bring heat to his U.S.

(Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp fo