-- News Corp. buys stake in Dutch company to secure local soccer
broadcasting rights
-- Deal strengthens company's dominance over European soccer
broadcasting
-- Move comes as News Corp. prepares to split in two
LONDON--News Corp. (NWS) on Wednesday acquired a majority stake
in the Dutch company that owns the broadcasting rights to the top
soccer league in the Netherlands, strengthening the media giant's
dominance over European soccer broadcasting.
The company has bought a 51% stake in Eredivisie Media &
Marketing CV--which owns the rights to the Eredivisie, the top
Dutch division--through its subsidiary FOX International Channels.
It bought the stake from Dutch TV production company Endemol and
the 18 clubs that make up the division. EMM broadcasts matches on
its television platform.
No financial details were disclosed.
The deal sees News Corp. further expand its portfolio of soccer
broadcasting rights in Europe, with the rights to three of the
world's most popular leagues already in its fold. In June, British
Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSY.LN), in which News Corp. owns
39.1%, agreed to pay 2.28 billion pounds ($3.57 billion) for the
exclusive rights for most English Premier League matches for three
years, starting from 2013. That is GBP700 million more than the
U.K.'s biggest pay-TV operator by revenue paid for the rights in
2009.
BSkyB has enticed millions of customers with its U.K.
broadcasting rights to the Premier League, underpinning profits and
sales.
In April, News Corp. retained key broadcasting rights for
Germany's Bundesliga, through its German pay-TV operator Sky
Deutschland AG (SKYD.XE), paying between 225 million euros ($278
million) and EUR275 million a season.
The company also owns the rights to Italy's Serie A via Sky
Italia, but doesn't own the rights to Spain's La Liga, whose clubs
sell the rights to their matches separately.
While popular in the Netherlands, the Eredivisie doesn't have
the same global appeal as the English, Spanish, German or Italian
leagues.
The move comes as the media conglomerate prepares to split in
two, separating its lucrative entertainment operations from its
smaller publishing assets.
The entertainment company will comprise News Corp.'s film
business 20th Century Fox, the Fox broadcast network and Fox News
Channel. The other company will consist of its publishing assets,
including The Wall Street Journal and the Times of London
newspapers, along with HarperCollins book publishing and News
Corp.'s education business.
News Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this
newswire.
At the time of the surprise announcement in June, News Corp.
Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said the new structure
will "simplify operations and greater align strategic
priorities."
News Corp. is also looking to strengthen its pay-television
operations in Australia, with its local unit recently tabling a
1.97 Australian dollar (US$2 billion) bid to buy Consolidation
Media Holdings Ltd. (CMJ.AU). The bid includes a 25% stake in
pay-TV operator Foxtel, which would double News Corp.'s stake.
The latest developments come in the wake of the phone-hacking
scandal at News Corp.'s British newspaper unit, which led to the
closure of the News of the World tabloid last year, the resignation
of several senior executives, lawsuits, police investigations, and
the abandonment of News Corp.'s bid for full ownership of BSkyB.
The bid was News Corp.'s attempt to capitalize on one of its most
lucrative properties.
News Corp. is scheduled to publish its financial results for the
fourth quarter ended June 30 later Wednesday.
Soccer is growing in popularity around the world, particularly
in Asia, the world's growth engine. The English Premier League is
the most popular division and is watched in about 650 million
households globally, according to the Premier League's 2010/11
season review report.
--Robin van Daalen in Amsterdam contributed to this article.
Write to Lilly Vitorovich at lilly.vitorovich@dowjones.com;
Twitter: @LillyVitorovich
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