Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

‘Still overvalued’: Pundits take shots at The Sun after Murdoch lists cash-hemorrhaging tabloid as worthless asset

‘Still overvalued’: Pundits take shots at The Sun after Murdoch lists cash-hemorrhaging tabloid as worthless asset

Rupert Murdoch has written down the value of The Sun to zero, meaning that the British tabloid is now worth less than the paper it’s printed on – delighting critics of the controversial media mogul.

In its latest accounts, News Group Newspapers, a subsidiary of Murdoch’s NewsCorp, lists The Sun and its Sunday edition sister paper as having “zero carrying value” following an £84 million ($118.5 million) writedown, the Financial Times reported.

Dwindling circulation exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis has resulted in the newspaper’s turnover dropping by a fifth. Coupled with legal costs from an infamous phone-hacking scandal, The Sun recorded a pre-tax loss of £201 million ($284 million), even after budgetary belt-tightening.

The new assessment of The Sun’s asset value is now based on the belief that the paper will not return to positive growth, the Financial Times said, citing management estimates in the accounts.

Murdoch bought the paper in 1969, propelling it to the top of the market using a mixture of racy photos and celebrity gossip. Once boasting a circulation of five million, the tabloid lost its spot as the best-selling UK paper last year, after being unseated by the Daily Mail.

The paper’s new valuation prompted triumphal tweets from Murdoch’s critics, who have regularly accused the Australian billionaire of peddling low-brow journalism to the masses.

Author and journalist Tim Walker said that writedown was fitting as The Sun “has always been worthless.”

“Still overvalued in my mind,” joked one observer.

Others argued that The Sun’s demise would be a net positive for Britain.


Several commenters were more hesitant to celebrate, theorizing that the valuation was part of a tax-dodging scheme.


Even if worthless in the most literal sense, The Sun is still able to manipulate public opinion, argued a more cynical observer.


Murdoch, who has often been portrayed as a malignant influence on journalism, warned in a recent speech that a “wave of censorship” in the West threatens to "stifle debate” and create “rigidly enforced conformity.” The comments were criticized by many as hypocritical.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×