News Corp closer to Oz channels deal

News Corp seems likely to succeed in its 21-month quest to take full ownership of the Sky News pay channels in Australia and New Zealand.

Seven West Media, Nine Entertainment (NEC) and European satcaster Sky jointly own Australian News Channel, parent company of the news and business channels carried on the Foxtel and Optus platforms and on Sky in NZ.

The three companies have broadly agreed commercial terms with News Corp in a deal valued at more than A$20m (US$15.1m), according to News Corp-owned broadsheet The Australian.

The Nine and Seven Networks would continue to provide content for Sky News, for which they would receive a trailing fee for two to three years, the paper added.

Sky launched in 1996 as the first 24-hour Australian-produced TV news channel. News Corp, which plans to put more resources into the broadcaster and integrate the service with its suite of news assets, launched a A$25m bid in February 2015 but was rebuffed by the Australian shareholders.

Sky’s carriage agreement with Foxtel, co-owned by News Corp and Telstra, expires at the end of this year. News Corp had threatened to launch its own satellite news service if the other investors refused to sell.