Washington, Dec 20: Federal regulators approved News corp's takeover of DirecTV, the largest us satellite television provider, but imposed certain conditions on the USD 6.6 billion deal. The Federal Communications Commission said yesterday that News Corp must agree to arbitration to iron out disputes with companies that carry its broadcast and cable channels, such as cable companies and other satellite providers.
The arbitration was to alleviate concerns that the american television network fox would pull its network programming, which includes pro baseball and football, off american cable systems to encourage viewers to subscribe to DirecTV. News Corp agreed not to pull either the network programming or its regional sports networks while a dispute was being arbitrated.
The Republican-dominated FCC split along party lines, 3-2, to approve the deal. News Corp owns the Fox broadcasting network and the Fox news channel, headed by former Republican political operative Roger Ailes.
Under the deal announced in April, News Corp would acquire 34 per cent of DirecTV parent Hughes Electronics, a subsidiary of General Motors Corp. The deal would give News Corp the largest block of shares in Hughes and controlling interest in DirecTV, which has more than 11 million subscribers.
Bureau Report