News Corp to axe 200 web workers

Mr Murdoch wants to expand his satellite business

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp media empire is shutting down its US online division and axing more than 200 jobs, in an effort to save money.

The company is to transfer the production of three major websites back to the networks they are associated with - Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports Television Group, and Fox News Channel.

The move will save the company "tens of millions" of dollars, said company spokesman Andrew Butcher on Thursday.

It means about half of the 450 jobs in the digital division, News Digital Media, will be lost over the next six months, and the remaining jobs will be moved back to the networks.

Planned float

News Digital Media was formed in 1997, to provide editorial content for the online components of News Corp's broadcast outlets, Fox News.com, Fox Sports.com and Fox.com.

The company also owns a film studio and publishing house

Until 1999, the division was headed by James Murdoch, the 27-year-old son of News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch. James Murdoch now heads the company's Asian satellite operations, and is also a board member along with his 29-year-old brother Lachlan.

Later this month News Corp could be hit with a bill of up to $2bn to buy out the half-interest in Fox Family Worldwide owned by children's programming mogul Haim Saban, co-creator of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

News Corp has also been preparing to float shares in its large satellite TV broadcasting subsidiary, Sky Global Networks. It is also keenly interested in buying DirecTV, a leading US satellite broadcaster owned by General Motors' Hughes Electronics unit.

DirecTV would fill in a major gap in Mr Murdoch's global satellite business, which already covers much of Europe, Asia and Latin America. Analysts estimate DirecTV could be worth about $40bn.

As well as its television properties, News Corp has a major film studio, 20th Century Fox, the Harper Collins book publisher, as well as many newspapers including UK newspaper The Sun, and the New York Post in the US.