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News Corp's $3 billion play creates largest station group, surpasses Westinghouse/CBS
Don't call Rupert Murdoch's Fox the fourth network anymore. With last week's $3 billion acquisition of the remaining 80% of New World Communications Group Inc., News Corp. and Fox become the nation's leading TV station owner.
The ground-breaking stock deal also brings News Corp. within a hairbreadth of the new TV station ownership cap of 35%. Its 22 stations will reach 34.83% of the nation's TV households, using the FCC's calculations. The deal includes producer and distributor New World Entertainment.
The addition of New World's 10 Fox affiliates to News Corp.'s 12 gives News Corp. an O&O in every top-10 market except San Francisco (see box, next page).
"[Murdoch] has such great strength in having that block" of top-10 holdings, says broker Richard Foreman. "There's been nobody that's had that in our business."
The merger is "a very important and strategic move," agrees analyst John S. Reidy of Smith Barney. "The ability to reach 35 percent of the audience with owned-and-operated television stations...is a powerful weapon as Fox [moves] forward into late night, early morning, daytime, overtime and, of course,...