back to article News International grabs SunOnSunday.co.uk domain

News International bought the sunonsunday.co.uk and thesunonsunday.co.uk domain names late last week, after they had originally been grabbed by unknown individuals as the phone-hacking scandal engulfed the News of the World Sunday tabloid. The final edition of that rag was published yesterday. But it's understood that News …

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  1. Is it me?

    Well da

    No way News Corp would give up the market share of NoW without a plan B. Even listening to their spokes persons they talk about this being an ongoing move, to consolidate brands and reduce costs.

    And would they lie to use?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Holmes

      Stupid question.

      > And would they lie to use?

      Damn right they would lie to us. If it meant them selling extra copies, they'd lie to anyone, especially as when they have to print a retraction or a correction, it's usually no more than half an inch square, buried in the depths of the paper.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Holmes

        The whistling noise you can hear ...

        ... is the sound of the ironic question "And would they lie to us?" whistling over your head.

  2. Ragarath

    Stupid

    Why buy them let the guy that brought them first just waste money. Or did they get brought by an individual before acting on behalf of NI?

    1. My Opinion
      Facepalm

      Bruy/brought...bing/bought???

      Buy is to bought, as bring is to brought.

      1. Andus McCoatover
        Windows

        Takes me back awhile...

        Friend of mine had two adopted beautiful kids, as his wife couldn't conceive.

        He'd moved from Norfolk to Warwick.

        I asked him "You brought your kids with you?" (meaning did you adopt them in Warwick, or adopt them in Norfolk?)

        He went apoplectic at me, because he thought I said "bought".

        Took awhile to straighten that out!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      NoTW vs SunOnSunday

      Ignoring the grammar issues, I think it is a reasonably safe bet that the domain name was bought on behalf of News International.

      Just goes to show what they think of the British public. Sadly their opinion might be quite accurate.

  3. Da Weezil
    Devil

    Whats in a Name?

    A festering pile of scabby crud smells as bad by whatever tag line they give it. I guess someone has to titillate the chavs, and Rupie considers that to be his territory.

    NotW closure was just a gesture, Im sure they all knew what was going on, as much as I'm sure the election favours are now being called in by Rupie.

    Ive said it before... Hypocrites

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    Different Name

    Same old shit sheet.

    Look out Rupert is watching you

  5. Pete 2 Silver badge

    Good to know

    It's reassuring to find out that the Windscale Effect is still operational.

    Have a devastaingly bad PR problem? Easy peasy, just change the name of the offending person/institute/liability. Within a few short weeks the entire british public will have forgotten all about the "old problems" and will embrace and throw money at exactly the same venture - just so long as it has a different name.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The sad thing is that

      The sad thing is that it is true.

      You, me will remember NoW. The 8 or so million which will start buying T*ts on Sunday? Do not think so.

  6. Lamont Cranston

    After all the publicity,

    it would seem sensible to buy up those two domains in order to prevent some parody site, that might pop up and damage their reputation.

    Bit late for that, really.

    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      Happy

      Re: After all the publicity,

      That would involve getting into a very serious and unwinnable game of whack-a-mole.

      For example: If anyone is interested in running a parody site, I see that "shiteonsunday.<TLD>" would appear to be available for every value of TLD. This has the dual advantages of both being immune to any NI domain snatch shenanigans and also being a name that more accurately describes the content under discussion.

  7. spegru
    Thumb Down

    thus proving....

    a) News International is responsible for registering or at least owning sunonsunday.co.uk

    b) Closing NoTW is a cynical move that doesn't hurt News International at all

    c) It's got no intention of changing its business model (same people in charge, same journos)

    d) It's not a Fit and Proper Owner for Sky

    1. Cazzo Enorme

      Re: this proving....

      It's even more cynical than the straightforward damage limitation exercise that most people think the NotW shut down is - the plan to turn The Sun into a seven day operation has been openly acknowledged by NI long before the NotW scandal. Getting rid of the NotW in the current climate gives NI an opportunity to cut costs sooner, by removing the duplicated roles that a simple merger would have resulted in without going through lengthy staff negotiations.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @ spegru

      b) Closing NoTW is a cynical move that doesn't hurt News International at all

      It actually benefits NI. NotW was an expensive operation (all those fake sheikhs, phone taps and bin rummaging doesn't come cheap) with a separate newsroom. Closing that down and producing a 7 day Sun filled with long-lens shots of various microslebs and reality TV articles from the Sun's existing newsroom will save them several tens of millions a year.

      The markets will love it, and Rebekah Brooks will get a bit smoochy kiss from Uncle Rupert.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        It looks worse than that to me

        Last week, NI were being frowned at for wanting BskyB. The main argument against being that NI own 4 newspapers including the best selling tabloid in Britain (NOTW).

        This week - oh look, that problem has gone away, no staff negotiations or expensive compensation, no going through government redundancy notifications for large groups of employees, another barrier removed to BSkyB, still going to sell sunday papers - less employees, lower costs and a clear path to BSkyB.

        I do hope the gubbermint see through this and block them.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Dirtbags.

    Just stop buying their products- it would not take much drop in circulation for advertisers to jump ship or refuse to pay as much until the papers are losing money.

    Getting with of NotW wasjust to try and divert attention away and blame a small part of the larger ROTTEN organisation.

    1. Naughtyhorse
      Thumb Up

      here here!

      and if you are buying a car just now, please consider a renault.

      sure it's a badly made piece of french crap, but it _could_ help bring down all of NI's..... publications

      1. Sir Cosmo Bonsor

        It's "hear, hear"

        And I don't buy their products anyway.

        1. Naughtyhorse

          damn and blast

          muy dependnecy on spookl chuckers

          thankyew

      2. Captain TickTock
        WTF?

        Eh?

        how did we get onto cars?

        Forgive me if I'm a little slow on the uptake today, or whenever I'm a little slow on the uptake)

        1. Naughtyhorse

          cars cos

          renault were the frst major advertiser to pull all their advertising from ALL NI titles.

          hitting the baststards where it hurts

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A simple rebrand cures all ills...

    the NOTW readership won't care what the rag is called.

    In the words of the mighty Who...

    Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

  10. Andus McCoatover
    Windows

    thesunonsunday.xxx

    More appropriate?

  11. john 119
    WTF?

    NI need to smarted up their domain grabs

    They can't be serious about the "SunonSunday" bollocks - the domain land grab is just full of holes.

    www.sunonsunday.org.uk - currently a protest site against the very notion of a NOTW flip flop to SunonSunday which was registered after the sunonsunday.co.uk etc.

    So shoddy work or unlikely to happen?

    1. Dave Bell

      Oscar Wilde said it all

      If there is one thing worse than being talked about, it is not being talked about.

  12. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Pint

    Raising a glass to "Mediaspring" whoever they are

    As they got a drink out of NI, which is a damm sight more satisfaction than a lot of people got.

    BTW Just had a thought.

    What of those payouts to people whose phones were hacked?

    No NoTW, no more cash?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Facepalm

      Whoever they are...

      That would be "a sockpuppet for News International", then.

  13. Tony S

    Citizen Murdoch

    I'm not sure that he will be bothered about the circulation numbers (certainly for the next few years). He has shown that he is quite willing to let newspapers lose money (The Times hasn't made a profit in years).

    What he is after is political control; whether that is by "persuading" the authority figures, or influencing voters. W R Hearst did the same back at the beginning of the 20th century and Orson Welles 'Citizen Kane' was an interesting study of just how it works. Similar methods were used by Goebbels and Stalin.

    1. Naughtyhorse

      true

      But I strongly suspect he's pissed on his chips as far as that goes.

      Too many enemies, causing too much embarassment to those who arent his enemies... yet.

      he and that redhead fuckwit will probably still think they are immune right up until the judges gavel drops as he intones 4 years or some such.

      Well i can but dream.

      well IMHO (lol) interfereing in the investigation to Millie Dowlers disappearance hampered police investigations. The animal responsible for Millie's death went on to commit 2 further murders. Who is to say that the plods trying to work out WTF was going on with her voicemail wouldnt have been the guys to stumble across the vital clue leading to the early capture of said animal. which in my book makes ruperts carrot topped friend an accessory.

      Im sure not the only lives on her consience, well whatever it is she has where a normal human beings consience is.

      hagins to good for em!

      (Oh noes!!!1 Im infected with newsofthescrewsitis)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Don't want to suggest gingerism is a real problem but . . .

        I'd question the relevance of the woman's hair colour to all this.

        1. Captain TickTock
          Trollface

          Who better to manage...

          a redtop?

      2. Pete 2 Silver badge

        > Well i can but dream.

        There could be a better way.

        Both the aussies and the 'merkins have laws against bribing foreign officials. I don't know about how it's done down under but apparently the yanks take it quite seriously and have concluded that nothing focuses a CEOs mind better than the prospect of jail time. As a consequence they are quite willing to, and have a history of, pursuing the top individuals personally - rather than just slapping a fine on the company.

        In this case (so I've read, tho' can't recall where) News Corp. is an american company and NI is a subsidiary.Therefore they are both subject to this law. It won't wash on the phone hacking aspect, but could do on the police backhanders issue. Normally I'm against the british government's policy of outsourcintg our law enforcement, but in this case I'm prepared to make an exception. Hell, I'd even be happy to bung the prosection a fiver to help with their case, so long as that isn't interpreted as me trying to bribe a foreign official.

  14. John70

    Scandel

    Once the next scandel brings down The Sun On Sunday, it might also take The Sun with it.

    1. NogginTheNog
      Thumb Up

      I somehow doubt it

      ...but oh we can live in hope! :-)

    2. Piro Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Ah-hah!

      I like the way you think. You've made this into a positive thing!

    3. Random Handle

      @John

      > it might also take The Sun with it.

      Very few news agents bother carrying it round here.......even most Evertonians respect the boycott. Grab one in a supermarket and its best to check it for dried phlegm from folk casually spitting on copies as they pass the shelves.

  15. tonysmith

    reverse soivet russia joke

    In Soviet Russia government control newspapers, in Britain the newspapers control government

  16. bobbles31
    Pirate

    I love the manouvering that even the Reg is missing.

    Just why are the politicians normally so in lurve with Murdoch suddenly becoming all vitriolic and demanding that with great vengeance and furious anger that News International be referred to the Competition Commission. Could it be that because with the lessening of Market share caused by the demise of NotW the competition commission will have no choice but to report that News International taking full control of BSkyB does not represent a monopoly of the media organisations in the UK and as such should be allowed to go ahead.

    But what of the "fit and proper" test. Well that test is conducted by OfCom who are only being asked to comment but not to report. This couldn't be playing out any more predictably if it were an episode of Yes Minister.

    All politicians get to be outraged, all government agencies get to say the right thing officially without any of it mattering a jot, and Rupert Murdoch gets what he wanted all along.

    If he is really lucky BSkyBs share price will plummet so far that he can even lower his offer to buy from 700p per share to 600p per share and offset the cost of losing News of the World. Then reclaim that share by starting the Sunday version of the Sun.

    You have to hand it to Murdoch, he knows how to play the game.

    He even managed to get everyone reporting his arrival like the second coming in the press last night giving the public impression that he was out of the country and is therefore as clean as a whistle. I mean, how could he have known what was going on...he wasn't even there.

    1. Mike Smith
      Black Helicopters

      Unless....unless

      Unless there are some people in government who see this as a heaven-sent opportunity to put the boot into Murdoch:

      1. BSkyB bid gets referred to the Competition Commission.

      2. Competition Commission says OK after some foot dragging. Meanwhile, the police investigation proceeds apace.

      3. Ofcom gives the OK. Police investigation continues.

      4. Takeover completes. So does the police investigation. The Dirty Digger is now Charles Foster Kane II until...

      5. ...Ofcom decides CFK II is not a fit and proper person....

      6. ... and withdraws BSkyB's licence.

      Now that would be a real bummer, wouldn't it Rupe?

    2. Andrew the Invertebrate

      fly meet ointment

      The only problem with the dropping BSkyB share price is that News Corps is dropping even faster, down 7% today 12% on the week. It keeps going at that rate News Corp won't be trying to buy BSkyB they'll be too busy avoiding take overs.

      Now wouldn't that be a shame?

  17. Sir Cosmo Bonsor

    Hey

    Don't bring Bing into this!

  18. Winkypop Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    New bucket

    Same pile of shit

  19. Primus Secundus Tertius
    WTF?

    name calling

    El Reg describes another publication as "that rag". Priceless!

  20. Big Al
    Facepalm

    Sunday Sun

    The Sunday Sun, meanwhile, is a regional newspaper owned by Trinity Mirror Group, using sundaysun.co.uk...

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And the rock roles on...

    And the faceless hypocrites all around the country who were shocked and appalled at the phone hacking scandal will continue to buy the published crap 'cause it's what they want to read.

    So they listened in to some recorded phone messages, so what... Are the ignorants that naive to think it hasn't been happening for years, is still now and will continue so - how do they think most of the trash they lap up every day gets out?

    1. NomNomNom

      exactly

      People listen into their phone messages all the time. Supposedly when joe public does it it's fine, but when a journalist does it, it's a crime. It's one rule for them another for everyone else.

      1. bobbles31

        Listening in is controlled by the recipients choice....

        One action is someone making their private information public, the other is a violation under several parts of legislation from the computer misuse act to the RIPA.

        The irony is that if we could get case law where RIPA is used to prosecute a private company, (even though the CPS it didn't cover private companies when the company involved was BT) then maybe we can finally get some justice for the Phorm intercepts.

  22. NomNomNom
    Thumb Down

    shameful

    It's a shame the News of the World has been effectively bullied into closing by shrill crowd of ill wishers. Sure there are genuine issues concerning a bunch of phone related stuff, but the so-called "public outcry" is greatly exagerated, seemingly consisting of kids on Tweeter and Facebook stirring up trouble. Yet notice noone ever blames the internet nowadays. Oh wait the News of the World would have blamed the internet....but oh they've been sacrificed at the alter of public opinion....whooops that was an own goal wasn't it?

    The blame News of the World game is now being milked by politicians who discracefully just fall over themselves to do the publics bidding. I am sure all of this will blow over soon enough and I look forward to the Sun on Sunday and hope the new broadsheet will remain faithful to it's older form.

    1. bobbles31

      erm...

      "politicians who discracefully just fall over themselves to do the publics bidding"

      isn't this what politicians should do? Or would you rather that they cow tailed to media magnates?

    2. Pete 2 Silver badge

      It's just business

      > has been effectively bullied into closing by shrill crowd of ill wishers.

      Not quite.

      Last year BSlyB made a profit of around £1Bn

      Last year News International made a profit of about £20 Mil. - That's all thepapers in the group not just the NoTW

      When it comes down to the bottom line, newspapers are irrelevant to Murdoch, it is likely he would sacrifice ALL OF THEM to get a shot at BSkyB.

      In fact the only reason anyone in Britian would own a newspaper is for the vanity and political clout it bestows. You certainly wouldn't do it for the money. I can see that if this whole sorry affair results in the press (free or not) being cut off at the wotsits, then the attraction of being a newspaper baron will evaporate as well. Once that happens the value of newspapers will drop faster than Rebekah Thingy's popularity and they will just close - no matter how high their circulation.

      'Corse once newspapers become obsolete, the value of a TV news channel sky-rockets (pun intended) for those who want power and influence but none of the responsibility. And TV News openings are much scarcer that printing presses.

  23. Sir Barry

    Am I stating the obvious?

    I reckon Mediaspring is just a front for News International.

    Companies House has only one firm listed - Mediaspring Consultancy Limited and that is shown to be dissolved.

    Interesting.....

  24. Alan Denman

    same old story?

    It's yet another Wapping great tale.

  25. Andy Enderby 1
    Mushroom

    @nomnomnom

    So if a guy goes into a bank, tries to rob it, makes a balls of it and gets caught, it's everybody else's fault ? Crap analogy, I know, but really ?

    Get real chum, they are alleged to have bugged, blagged and bribed across all of their titles according to breaking news, and the police, who come out of this as badly smeared by some individual officers alleged actions if not worse, are in the position that cases against officers and NI staff could end up compromised by NI wilfully leaking details of the case. They're cycnical and still honestly believe they can get away with all this.

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    So to sum it all up...

    Same Shit, Different Day.

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