News Corp (NYSE: NWS). announced in October that it was overhauling its mobile division after buying the remaining 49 percent stake in Jamba from VeriSign (NSDQ: VRSN). As part of the restructuring, News Corp. created the Fox Mobile Group, and planned aggressive new initiatives, including a new U.S. brand that was on target to go live in the next couple months. But today at CES in Las Vegas, Mauro Montanaro, Fox Mobile’s CEO, and former Jamba CEO, told me the launch has been delayed because of the economic climate. Montanaro: “We are revisiting the launch dates because after September-October, the economic crisis hit very hard. We have a name, and we have a whole plan, and now we are looking at when…It will be in the first half of the year.”

The delay will push out the launch by only about three months, but Montanaro said the company is also tempering its enthusiasm for the U.S. market. In October, he told us that U.S. subscribers “are ready to consume data, including content on the phone.” And, although he still believes the U.S. market has a good mix of broadband and mobile penetration, they are also looking at launching in other markets, “so we can achieve economies of scale and hit the English speaking markets at the same time.”

Over the years, Jamba’s success has been a roller coaster ride, which soared with the popularity of ringtones, only to struggle as it faced controversies over billing practices and waning ringtone sales. The new phase has promised significant investments by Fox, by opening up a new studio to create made-for-mobile content. Montanaro is also charged with getting other groups in Fox to think of mobile when creating new content. He doesn’t see them backing off on the strategy, but he did say they are reconsidering how much people are willing to pay for content. “The new brand and the idea of exceptional content is even more valid now than it was then. The fact is you have to work harder to earn your dollar today, and clearly we are revisiting all our plans on what we have to offer at what price. I think all companies are looking at offering more quality at a lower price than they were before. Consumers are more discerning on what they pay. We really want to offer seamless transparent pricing to the consumer, and with the best content ever. For the next two years, the companies that can offer that will survive. Companies that don’t change what they offer and the price will have a really hard time because consumers are tightening their belt considerably.”

Montanaro was really careful not to give too much away during our conversation, but from what I gather, “transparent pricing” is much more than not using deceptive billing practices (like it has been accused of in the past). We may just see the company, which has primarily operated off-deck and independently, team up with a wireless carrier, to package content to help sell unlimited data plans, the crown jewel of new revenue sources for carriers. They company is also likely to explore new forms of advertising, like sponsorships, to offset the price of producing content specifically for mobile.

The rest of our coverage is on our CES 2009 channel

• Fox Creates Mobile Group After Buying Jamba Stake; Will Launch A New U.S. Mobile Brand Next Year