Reuters/Thomson deal could hurt Dow Jones Newswires

While the proposed $17.6 billion deal to combine the operations of Reuters Group and Thomson Corp. has been written about as increasing competition for Bloomberg LP, Sarah Ellison of The Wall Street Journal writes Thursday about its potential impact on Dow Jones Newswires.

Ellison wrote, “Thomson doesn’t have a news service with reporters all over the globe sending thousands of headlines and articles a day — but Reuters would give it one.

“A combined Reuters-Thomson could offer special deals and packages to clients that include the Reuters news service. With Reuters newswire added to its stable, Thomson could be less likely to distribute content from Dow Jones.

“‘Unfortunately there’s a downside for Dow Jones,’ said David Anderson, an independent industry analyst who edits Inside Market Data Reference. ‘Suddenly, Thomson, which was a good distribution channel for Dow Jones, will become a less good one.’

“But Dow Jones argues that ‘the vast majority of Newswires revenue comes from clients under contract directly with Newswires,’ indicating that those clients will want Dow Jones content regardless of how it is distributed.”

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