News Corp. Launches Web Venture Incubator

LOS ANGELES, February 14:
News Corporation has debuted Slingshot Labs, a new operation the company is
calling an “incubator” dedicated to building and developing new web ventures,
led by MySpace executives Josh Berman and Colin Digiaro.

Slingshot Labs will employ
a portfolio approach to the development and launch of businesses and plans to
build four to five ventures per year. A diverse range of businesses are
expected to emerge from Slingshot, including stand-alone web destinations and
social-media applications, and the company will employ dedicated product and
development teams tasked with building each new venture. Slingshot will also
offer employees the opportunity to participate in the value created in each of
the new ventures it develops in order to help attract top entrepreneurial
talent.

Berman and Digiaro will
serve as co-presidents of the company, which is based in Santa Monica and is
wholly owned by News Corp. They will oversee operations and strategy, drawing
from their experience as part of the founding MySpace team and former
executives.

Slingshot is the latest
member of News Corp.’s web portfolio, which also includes MySpace,
FoxSports.com, IGN, AmericanIdol.com and WSJ.com.

“Slingshot will function
like an Internet start-up by moving quickly to identify market trends and
evaluate their potential as part of the company’s portfolio,” said Digiaro.

“We’re committed to
building disruptive Internet businesses that operate autonomously—we’re
actively recruiting to incorporate the industry’s top talent in this exciting
new venture,” added Berman.

—By Ned Berke