• Germany edition
Business & Money
Photo: DPA

Murdoch owns majority of German Sky

Published: 14 Jan 13 15:54 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20130114-47325.html

Australian-American media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has secured a majority stake in Sky Deutschland, the paid-for television broadcaster which has the rights to the Bundesliga's top-flight German football matches.

The 81-year-old spent nearly €400 million to increase his News Corp media empire's share from just under 50 percent to 54.5 percent Sky announced on Monday.

As the Handelsblatt newspaper reported, Murdoch's News Corp bought up 15 percent of Sky Deutschland at the start of 2008 before scaling that up.

"Our new long-term financial structure now gives us the possibility and the room to further develop Sky as a businss and to implement our strategy," said Brian Sullivan on Monday.

Last year he secured the rights to the Bundesliga, for nearly €2 billion, pushing out Deutsche Telekom - although Sky has since done a deal with Telekom so that its customers can get access to the games.

The Handelsblatt said the Murdoch majority takeover was not unexpected - and was being taken by the industry as a demonstration of his belief in the future of German pay-TV.

Insiders had speculated that Murdoch would take this step ever since last November when the Munich Finance Office decided that a tax credit worth billions of euros would not be invalidated if he increased his share.

Sky Deutschland has made a loss almost since it was launched, but is now making progress towards the black, the Handelsblatt said.

The Local/hc

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

12:44 January 18, 2013 by Sastry.M
There is no one in Germany today to fight for Lebensraum in his Sky but he can put an age old English news tabloid into ground for ever with the flick of his pen.
ADD YOUR COMMENT   (YOU MUST LOG IN OR REGISTER TO MAKE A COMMENT)
Business & Money headlines
Photo: DPA

Tax evasion 'OK for Joe Normal' say Germans

Although Germans express outrage when wealthy or famous people evade taxes, many of them do the same themselves, albeit on a smaller scale, a new survey shows. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Spain and Germany fight youth employment

Germany has agreed to provide vocational training and jobs for young Spaniards starved of opportunities in their crisis-hit home country. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Car boss asks Merkel to rethink CO2 pledge

The president of the German Automobile Association (VDA) has written to Angela Merkel, asking her to retract her pledge to significantly reduce CO2 car emissions by 2025, it was reported on Tuesday. READ () »

Photo: DPA

SAP to hire hundreds of autistic IT experts

German tech company SAP said on Tuesday it wants to hire hundreds of people with autism to work as software testers and programmers. The search has, it said, begun for people “who think differently from others.” READ () »

Photo: DPA

Economists warn against German euro exit

While a third of Germans would rather pay with the old Deutsche mark than the euro, economists warn that a German exit from the currency union would result in a disaster. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Germany cool to France's EU economy plan

Germany said Friday that French President Francois Hollande's proposal for a eurozone economic government was "interesting" but reacted coolly to his call for strengthened European budgetary powers. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Au pairs rules relax for non-German families

Foreign families will soon be able to officially engage au pairs from outside the European Union, as long as they speak German at home, as the government prepares to change the law. READ () »

Wolfgang Schäuble and his French counterpart Pierre Moscovici. Photo: DPA

Germany refuses to slam French economic policy

Germany will not publicly criticize France over economic policy, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble insisted on Thursday, amid differences between Berlin and Paris over growth versus austerity in battling the eurozone debt crisis. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Capri-Sun drink wins false advertising award

A German food industry watchdog singled out drinks-maker Capri-Sun for its annual advertising "award" on Thursday, for what the group described as "shameless" marketing of sugary drinks to children. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Anaemic economy feels winter chill

The German economy, Europe's biggest, clocked up anaemic growth at the start of 2013 as the freezing winter weather put the brakes on activity, official data showed on Wednesday. READ () »

More Business & Money

See all ads | Join the Marketplace

Jobs in Germany, in English

947 jobs available
561 new jobs this week
0 new jobs today

ALL JOBS »

Latest Business & Money news from Sweden
News from the Goethe-Institut
News from DeutschlandOnline

Toytown Germany
Germany's English-speaking crowd
Trade CFDs with InterTrader.com
Start trading shares, equities, forex, etc. No commission on equities; Low min. margins. Apply for a CFDs account now!
Little house in Spain
'Charming, old, beamed cottage for holiday let in Jesus Pobre, Alicante, Spain
www.littlehouseinspain.com/
Albatross Insurance
Professional and qualified consultancy on all insurance and finance matters in Germany, Telephone: +49 2163 571 1740, Email: bg@albatross-assurance.com
www.albatross-assurance.com
Hotel reservations in Berlin
Visiting Berlin anytime soon? Book your hotel in Berlin here.
Rental apartments in Berlin
For home-from-home holiday accommodation, search for a Berlin apartment to rent.