For years the fortunes of the US media industry have been shaped by the demands of a domestic market worth more than $500bn in annual sales. But executives at the Manhattan headquarters of News Corporation, Time Warner and other media giants are increasingly mapping their future increasingly in new territories.

The board of News Corp, led by Rupert Murdoch, was briefed last week on the latest move to exploit both higher growth rates and profit margins in emerging markets. The company has just completed two bolt-on deals in Ukraine and Turkey, extending its small but fast-growing presence in outdoor advertising.