Rupert Murdoch and TCI officials officially announced
yesterday they have joined with two of Latin America's largest
broadcasters to launch a 150-channel satellite TV service.
Murdoch and TCI Chair John Malone join with Globo, the leading
media company in Brazil, and Grupo Televisa, the vast Mexican
broadcaster. They plan an initial investment of $500M in the
service, which is scheduled to begin in May. The service will
transmit entertainment, news and sports programming to homes with
satellite dishes and digital receivers (Mark Landler, N.Y. TIMES,
11/21). Murdoch said the market consists of 400 million
households and that the deal is "one of the most far-reaching
moves in global broadcasting." Murdoch said the recent venture
between News Corp. and TCI's Liberty Media to build a global
sports franchise would be "a key programming supplier to the
partnership." Financial details are still being discussed, but
the venture will be handled by News Corp., and co-owned News
Corp., Globo, and Televisa (30% each) and TCI (10%) (Durie &
Yelland, N.Y. POST, 11/21). Profits will be divided among the
partners according to the regions they inhabit
(BLOOMBERG/Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/21).
