The News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) conference call is underway, with chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch giving his prepared rundown of the results for the quarter ending Sept. 30. He wants to be sure everyone knows just how global News Corp. is, with properties outside the U.S. responsible for just under 50 percent of consolidated revenues, and that the company’s multiple revenues streams provide some insulation when problems crop up in one area.

MySpace: Murdoch: It’s becoming much more than a social network. He talks up OpenSocial and the new ad programs announced this week. As for competition, “There’s been a lot of chatter lately” about MySpace’s ability to maintain leadership and to truly monetize its audience. “I’m more convinced than ever that any fear is misplaced. Just look at the numbers, nearly one in every four Americans is on MySpace. ... 300,000 new users around the world join MySpace every single day.” Unique users grew in September, up nearly 23 percent since the same quarter in 2006. ... What is changing is the marketplace. .. as it continues to mature there’s plenty of room for other platforms.” Murdoch said MySpace has to maintain a unique experience for users.

Advertising revenues were up 32 percent at MySpace over a year ago. He expects that to go higher now that HyperTargeting is rolling out. “We expect HyperTargeting to pick up momentum ... Nobody else on the web is approaching this level of sophistication.” COO Peter Chernin added later that he also expects SelfServe, the new product for small businesses to create display ads, to deliver. Chernin said FIM started Q3 “a little bit behind” but has good momentum now: “Revenues are up 40 percent since July. Our revenues are up 15 percent just from September to October and we’re seeing great lift in CPMs, probably a blended 30 percent increase in CPMs in that four month period.” He said two specifics affected the quarter: no American Idol and the comps to last year when they sold the rest of Intermix.

Facebook: He met Facebook head on: “the two platforms are very different in the user experience.” MySpace is for self expression ... Facebook tends to be a web utility, similar to a phone book.” Facebook is only 45 percent of MySpace in terms of uniques and 33 percent for page views. In the U.S>. Nielsen says 74 percent of Facebook users also use MySpace.

FIM: The two-year-old interactive unit brought in revenues of $188 million, up roughly 80 percent from the same quarter last year, primarily do to MySpace growth. Operating income was $4 million, which CFO Dave DeVoe said reflects continuing investment and higher acquisition retention costs. No spinoffs or IPO en route for FIM or MySpace. Murdoch: “We haven’t considered the latter .., (the former) it’s still a temptation but one we want to resist, I think.”

: Asked when the deal will close, Murdoch let out a swift “hah.” Meetings are underway at the Justice Department; he expressed confidence that it soon would move from there to the FCC and would be approved.