Rupert Murdoch has struck an uncharacteristically downbeat note while updating a gathering of News Corpshareholders on progress made to keep his publishing business viable in the midst of the rush to digital.

Acknowledging that digital advertising "has been tremendously damaging to print", Murdoch praised efforts by his company to hold back the tide, but warned: “So far I think we have done pretty well in replacing lost advertising revenue in the major papers, but it continues to be a big problem.”

Dismissing any suggestion of adding further titles to his existing portfolio, the chief executive said his aim was to double down on maintaining revenues at existing assets, saying: “Our hands are pretty full making our existing papers viable."

"I think the big three successes we have are the three big national papers: The Wall Street Journal, the Times in London and the Australian. The other papers, a lot of them are still very viable, but they are struggling," he added.

Murdoch didn’t elaborate on which specific titles were ‘struggling’ but his print empire includes the likes of The New York Post and The Sun.

In recent months News Corp has disappointed investors as weak print advertising continues to weigh on its bottom line.