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Murdoch

News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch, addressing the Goldman Sachs media conference Tuesday, praised the company's satellite TV interests around the world, and talked about possibly taking over the 18 percent of Fox Entertainment the company doesn't own.

Murdoch said News Corp. would consider buying out the rest of Fox, adding that it would "be very cheap, (but) we're not in a hurry to do it." As for DirecTV, Murdoch said his company could not take over the rest of the satellite TV company "even if we wanted to do it" due to a potentially hefty tax liability.

The News Corp. exec wouldn't speculate on the future success of DirecTV, but said the satellite TV company is executing on all fronts, including record subscriber acquisition numbers so far this year. "We all know it's all coming from you know where," Murdoch said of DirecTV's subscriber gains at the expense of cable.

Murdoch also voiced confidence in British Sky Broadcasting, also controlled by the media giant. He said the satellite TV platform could reach 10 million subscribers in five years.

As for Fox, DirecTV and BSkyB, Murdoch said, "We think they are good assets. We are very lucky to get into them." Murdoch also said the company is beginning negotiations with the NFL concerning future TV rights, and said there may be an increase in TV rights fees "but nothing ridiculous."
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Re: DFW Tecs 10/6/2004 3:06:00 PM