News Corp takes majority stake in German pay-TV Sky Deutschland

Berlin: A wholly-owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. has taken a majority stake in German pay-TV Sky Deutschland. The Munich-based channel said in a statement on Monday that News Adelaide has increased its holding in Sky Deutschland to 54.5 per cent for €347.4 million ($463.14 million). Sky Deutschland says News Corp. has also agreed to guarantee a €300 million bank loan and the channel’s licence fee payments to the German Football League for the Bundesliga seasons through 2016/2017. Some 3,363,000 customers paid for Sky Deutschland’s subscription service last year.