Ouch: News Corp Lost Over $200M on MySpace Sale

News Corp took a massive hit in the wallet in its fiscal fourth quarter earnings thanks to the sale of MySpace.

Wednesday News Corp reported a 22-percent drop in fiscal fourth quarter earnings, part of which included a $254 million after-tax loss (or 10-cents a share) stemming from the sale of its fledgling social website, MySpace.

Back in June, News Corp sold MySpace to digital ad network Specific Media for $35 million (plus a 5-percent stake in Specific Media), but originally paid $580 million in 2005. Justin Timberlake also reportedly took an ownership stake of MySpace and will "play a major role in developing the creative direction and strategy for the company moving forward."

"There’s a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect," Timberlake said back in June. "Myspace has the potential to be that place. Art is inspired by people and vice versa, so there’s a natural social component to entertainment. I’m excited to help revitalize Myspace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together in one community."

MySpace took a heavy beating in social traffic as rival social website Facebook emerged and began to draw in massive numbers. In an attempt to regain its prior fame and fortune, the struggling MySpace "rebooted" itself as a social entertainment destination focused on music, movies and other multimedia.

"This marks the beginning of an exciting turning point for Myspace," said Mike Jones, CEO of Myspace, at the time. "Our new strategy expands on Myspace’s existing strengths – a deep understanding of social, a wealth of entertainment content and the ability to surface emerging cultural trends in real time through our users."

But the re-launch didn't work, and by February 2011, traffic had diminished to the point that News Corp decided to officially put the site up for sale which, at the time, was estimated to be worth between $50M and $200M. At the end of May 2011, News Corp still hadn't sold off the website for the reserve price of over $100M reportedly because of MySpace's rapid decline in traffic. The site was eventually handed over to Specific Media and Justin Timberlake on June 29.

News Corp's fiscal fourth quarter earnings report wasn't all about the Myspace loss. On Wednesday the company reported that revenue rose a better-than-expected 11-percent and raised its annual dividend to 17 cents from 15 cents as a result.