MURDOCH SEES IPAD AS A MEDIA GAME-CHANGER

Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp is reportedly considering rolling out a news product dedicated solely to tablet devices like the iPad, commented today (Wednesday) that such devices are “a perfect platform for our content.” Murdoch, who in recent interviews has called the iPad a game changer and imagined a day when readers would read printed text on its screen, then touch a photo and watch it become a video news report, said that initial estimates that Apple would sell only a few million iPads were far too conservative. “It looks like they will sell around 15 million iPads this calendar year and more than 40 million by 2012. And the iPad is just one of many tablet or slate computers in the pipeline. News Corp fully intends to be across all those platforms too,” Murdoch told a media conference in Sydney, Australia. Last Friday CNBC reported that News Corp is planning to announce an iPad-dedicated news platform this month, provided that it can resolve differences with Apple over revenue sharing and subscription fees.