I hesitate to mention the words Crazy Frog, only so we might avoid putting that damned thing in anyone's heads again. But, News Corp has made that impossible by buying the half of mobile content company Jamba it didn't already own. Jamba trades as Jamster. Jamster made the, erm, barmy amphibian.
So, why should Murdoch want to make buddies with such a blight on our cultural heritage? Well, ignoring the fact that cultural blights are not something he particularly cares to avoid (Fox News, Dream Team, The Sun...), it makes sense.
First, Jamba makes lots of money by peddling ringtones, which is essentially what anyone is talking about when they laud current mobile content revenues. Second, it is a content creator. Jamba already produces versions of Sky TV shows for mobile digestion. So, while people like me talk up the potential for mobile TV - and honestly we'll all be doing it one day - Murdoch picks up a business that makes News Corp very well-placed in the unlikely event that I'm right.
News Corp's digital investments are almost all hits because he (and/or his digital investment guru Jeremy Phillips) manage to stay relatively risk-free. They only buy businesses that already make money (or, in MySpace's case, they know are just about to). If they don't, they only invest for a small share with a view to taking more if it proves its worth.
In mobile, where there are even more wild and uncertain predictions than any other media platform ever, this approach makes even more sense. Unlike that darned ribbity thing.
News Corp acquires Jamba for $200m
