News Corp. Takes Premiere Stake

NEW YORK/MUNICH, January 7: News Corporation has acquired
Unitymedia’s 14.58-percent stake in German pay-TV platform Premiere for 287
million euros in cash.

The shares, priced at 17.50 euros each, were previously held
in a trust by the private banking firm Pictet & Cie on behalf of
Unitymedia. The cable-TV operator acquired the Premiere stake last year as part
of an alliance with the platform for Bundesliga soccer rights.

“Pay-TV is a core business for News Corporation and it’s a
category that’s thriving across Europe with a multitude of new services and
innovations,” said Rupert
Murdoch, News Corporation’s chairman and CEO. “We see enormous potential
for growth in Germany and believe the time is right to invest in its foremost
pay-TV business, Premiere.”

Premiere is Germany’s leading pay-TV operator, with more
than 4 million subscribers, reaching over 10 million viewers.

—By Mansha Daswani