Steve Mehs
05-05-03, 03:14 AM
News Corp.'s proposed takeover of DirecTV and Hughes is now before the Federal Communications Commission, with the companies filing details of the proposed transaction at the Portals late Friday.
Officially, the companies submitted an application for authority to transfer FCC licenses controlled by Hughes and DirecTV to News Corp. In the application, both companies said they promise to allow competing pay-TV providers to access News Corp.-controlled programming, something that's likely to become an issue during the deal's debate at the FCC.
"As a programmer, News Corp. is dedicated to achieving the widest possible distribution for its programming in order to maximize revenue from advertising and subscriber fees, and it has no interest in denying access to or discriminating against any MVPD (Multichannel Video Program Distribution) platform," the companies said in their filing.
In the filing, News Corp. and Hughes said they would agree to operate under the same program access rules Congress and the commission placed on programmers affiliated with cable operators. And they said they would follow a number of other mandates, including restrictions on News Corp. from offering a national or regional programming service on an exclusive basis to any pay-TV provider, and rules preventing News Corp. and DirecTV from entering into exclusive arrangements with or improperly influencing affiliated programming entities, including Liberty Media.
In the application, News Corp. said it's committed to increasing DirecTV's local TV slate to as many of the 210 DMAs nationwide as technically and feasibly possible. Among the possibilities being studied for more local TV is the use of Hughes' Ka-Band SpaceWAY system and incorporating digital terrestrial tuners into set-top boxes.
News Corp. said the proposed takeover of Hughes and DirecTV could create synergies and efficiencies of between $610 million and $765 million annually. "These savings will, in turn, enhance Hughes' ability to undertake the significant risks and costs of developing and deploying new services and technologies to provide its customers with consistently more compelling products and services," the company said in the application.
From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com) (Used with Permission)
Officially, the companies submitted an application for authority to transfer FCC licenses controlled by Hughes and DirecTV to News Corp. In the application, both companies said they promise to allow competing pay-TV providers to access News Corp.-controlled programming, something that's likely to become an issue during the deal's debate at the FCC.
"As a programmer, News Corp. is dedicated to achieving the widest possible distribution for its programming in order to maximize revenue from advertising and subscriber fees, and it has no interest in denying access to or discriminating against any MVPD (Multichannel Video Program Distribution) platform," the companies said in their filing.
In the filing, News Corp. and Hughes said they would agree to operate under the same program access rules Congress and the commission placed on programmers affiliated with cable operators. And they said they would follow a number of other mandates, including restrictions on News Corp. from offering a national or regional programming service on an exclusive basis to any pay-TV provider, and rules preventing News Corp. and DirecTV from entering into exclusive arrangements with or improperly influencing affiliated programming entities, including Liberty Media.
In the application, News Corp. said it's committed to increasing DirecTV's local TV slate to as many of the 210 DMAs nationwide as technically and feasibly possible. Among the possibilities being studied for more local TV is the use of Hughes' Ka-Band SpaceWAY system and incorporating digital terrestrial tuners into set-top boxes.
News Corp. said the proposed takeover of Hughes and DirecTV could create synergies and efficiencies of between $610 million and $765 million annually. "These savings will, in turn, enhance Hughes' ability to undertake the significant risks and costs of developing and deploying new services and technologies to provide its customers with consistently more compelling products and services," the company said in the application.
From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com) (Used with Permission)