Murdoch Maneuvers<< WiMax TV - NDS Gets It | Main | The Power of Letting Go >> Todd Chanko | September 14, 2006, 03:57 PM The possible deal between Liberty and News Corporation to transfer respective ownership stakes in DirecTV raises many issues. NDS, a provider of set top boxes, conditional access and DVRs would no longer enjoy a “special relationship” with DirecTV due to its majority ownership by News Corporation while TiVo’s deal with DirecTV could possibly be extended beyond its current three year extension. Most importantly, Murdoch may be signaling his intentions to sharpen his focus on digital media even further. Earlier this week News Corporation purchased a controlling interest in Jamba from Verisign for $188 million. Are we to infer that Murdoch sees more fortune in ringtones than in satellite TV? Moreover, is he now moving away from recurring revenue streams to more transaction-based models? On the other hand, there are still some advantages to satellite TV: look at the snafu that occurred recently with BskyB’s broadband content service. Hackers cut through Microsoft’s DRM, freeing up content for subscribers – and their friends. The service is temporarily halted until Microsoft can develop a patch. Looks like online video services may still need to work out some kinks. |
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