Murdochs, burned on MySpace, seek return to social with TikTok

Fox is considering making an investment in TikTok as part of a group that includes Oracle Corp., Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake Management in a deal orchestrated by the US government, Bloomberg News reported. President Donald Trump said Sunday that Fox Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch and his father Rupert would have a role in the business.

The Trump administration is pushing for the sale of TikTok’s American operations to comply with a law requiring the app’s Chinese owner to divest or face a ban on the platform in the US. The legislation was passed in the wake of concerns that TikTok accesses personal information on Americans. 

A potential tie-in with the popular TikTok service will help Fox reach young audiences in new ways, exposing them to everything from broadcast TV shows to streaming businesses like the ad-supported Tubi and Fox One, a paid online platform.

Rupert Murdoch, founder of both Fox and News Corp., bought the social media service MySpace in 2005 for $580 million. That business, which was popular with musicians looking to promote their music, ultimately couldn’t keep up with changing consumer tastes and the rise of Facebook. Murdoch sold the company six years later for $35 million.

The details of Fox’s proposed TikTok investment aren’t known. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment. TikTok is owned by ByteDance Ltd.

The Murdochs control the print-focused News Corp. and Fox, the parent of Fox News and other channels. They’ve had some success with minority investments. Fox owns a 2.4% stake in Flutter Entertainment Plc, one of the largest online betting companies in the world. It also has an option to purchase a 19% stake in FanDuel, Flutter’s US arm.

Rupert Murdoch retired as chairman of both companies in 2023, but has still been involved in major decisions. A news hound who has long played an active role in shaping political fortunes from the UK to his native Australia, Murdoch would potentially gain a voice at an influential social media company, popular with people who don’t subscribe to conventional pay TV or printed publications. 

The Murdochs recently restructured a family trust to give Lachlan Murdoch control of their empire. 

The proposed TikTok deal comes three years after Elon Musk purchased Twitter and renamed the service X. Last week, Bloomberg reported that sales at dropped slightly during the second quarter from the first quarter, signaling that the social network has struggled to build on the spending that rushed in when Musk was at the center of US politics.