Time Warner Closer To Purchase By Far Right Propagandist Who Has Spent Tens of Millions Trying to Turn America into a Right-Wing Paradise

(Illustration by DonkeyHotey)

Rupert Murdoch's propaganda machine has legitimized white supremacy, assisted the rise of the Tea Party, strengthened racist militias, and weakened gun laws. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

New Deal Could Give Rupert Murdoch More Cash For Time Warner Bid

By Gregory Katz

Analysts note 21st Century Fox, which has a strong presence in cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and other fields, could use the cash from the European TV deal to help fund its pursuit of Time Warner after the recent failure of an $80 billion offer.

Rupert Murdoch is calling on European outposts to help in his pursuit of Time Warner. The media mogul’s 21st Century Fox is poised to sell its Sky pay-TV arms in Italy and Germany to Fox’s British affiliate, British Sky Broadcasting. There’s strategic logic to the asset shuffle and the proceeds could help sweeten his $80 billion bid for the owner of CNN and Warner Bros. How Mr. Murdoch treats non-Murdoch owners is the linchpin.

This elaborate subplot, with its jostling factions and family ties, is evocative of “Game of Thrones,” the violent fantasy drama broadcast by Time Warner’s HBO. BSkyB could pay Fox 5.8 billion pounds, or $9.9 billion, for the two satellite companies, Berenberg analysts say. Given Time Warner’s resistance to Mr. Murdoch’s opening salvo last week, the extra cash should come in handy if he persists.

Fox owns all of Sky Italia, 57 percent of Sky Deutschland, and 39 percent of BSkyB. A full takeover of the British business, where Mr. Murdoch’s son James was once the chairman, by the Fox predecessor News Corporation was killed in 2011 by the phone-hacking scandal. That leaves Mr. Murdoch on both sides of the deal.


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