Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has "officially become a
'passive' partner with the cable owners of Primestar
Partners," according to Scott Hettrick in the HOLLYWOOD
REPORTER. The deal sees News Corp. "selling off its
satellite assets" to TCI, Time Warner Cable and other cable
owners of Primestar in exchange for $1.1B in securities.
The company will be called Primestar Inc. As part of the
deal, the new Primestar service will carry Fox News Channel
and FX. Hettrick: "Not only did ... the cable industry win
their battle to keep Murdoch from becoming a competitor, but
... the Primestar companies have finally found a way to get
the high-powered satellite license that the FCC repeatedly
denied them and sold to News Corp." Primestar Chair & CEO
Jim Gray said the deal will allow Primestar to compete with
cable, but Hettrick writes, "some wonder how vigorously
Primestar will compete ... since the company is owned by"
cable systems (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/12). In Denver,
Stephen Keating writes the deal "will likely face intense
antitrust and consumer-group scrutiny" (DENVER POST, 6/12).
FAMILY AFFAIR: In a separate deal, News Corp. agreed to
pay $1.9B for Int'l Family Entertainment, the owner of the
Family Channel, according to Sallie Hofmeister in the L.A.
TIMES. The deal "fills a hole" for News Corp. by giving it
a much-sought-after channel for its children's programming,
"while improving the prospects of wider distribution of its
other networks, which include several regional sports
networks, the Fox News Channel and FX" (L.A. TIMES, 6/12).
