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Liberty Media exchanges shares of News Corp. for DirecTV
While DirecTV tends to garner a lot of negative attention, all the fuss apparently doesn't bother Liberty Media's CEO John Malone, as the firm has recently signed a deal to swap its 16.3-percent stake in News Corp. for "shares of DirecTV, three regional sports networks and $550 million in cash." Liberty, who already controls several other TV networks such as Starz, is hoping to jump back to the forefront of television by assuming News Corp.'s three seats on DirecTV's board of directors. Interestingly, Malone stated that the new investment would "create financial, operating, and strategic flexibility," which could eventually freshen up the previously stale merger talks between DirecTV and Echostar -- but considering Liberty Media still won't have a controlling stake in the company, we're not holding our collective breath.
Time Warner gets fussy with DirecTV over "false advertising"
There's nothing like a warm, heartfelt lawsuit to really spread that holiday cheer, and we've got yet another battle in the courtroom about to get cranked up, and this time it's between rivals DirecTV and Time Warner. While TWC still can't claim the ability to offer the fledgling NFL Network on its cable systems, DirecTV felt the need to boast not only about its "superior coverage," but to also rub a little salt in Time Warner's wound by informing folks in NFL towns that games shown on the NFL Network "couldn't be seen" on Time Warner. Although the claims seem somewhat legitimate, Time Warner insists that "all eight games featured on the NFL Network will also be available to local fans over broadcast networks," which apparently wasn't the message being conveyed to pigskin-loving consumers. Regardless, DirecTV dug its hole a tad deeper by hiring Jessica Simpson to state that the firm's HD quality "beats cable," which is quite the laughable statement to anyone familiar with "HD Lite." In the end, however, we're sure the ads will be removed (or at least reworded), and the two firms will continue to bicker in future bouts, but what fun would it be if these two actually decided to get along, right?[Via MultiChannel]
Time Warner to carry MHD
In a new deal between Time Warner Cable and Viacom, Time Warner and Bright House Networks cable companies will be adding MHD to their HD lineup. While we are always happy to have another HD channel, many would prefer some other channel like National Geographic HD or even ESPN2 HD. There is no word when we can expect to see the channel online and no doubt those local branches without enough bandwith will go without MHD despite the agreement.
