The planned merger between Sky Global and GM Hughes (see Murdoch Slims Sky Global To Seal DirecTV Deal) could see Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp become ‘the only truly global, vertically integrated media group’, according to analysts at ABN Amro. The broker says that this development is as significant for News Corp as its expansion from newspaper publishing to television broadcasting in the 1990s.
“It would position News Corp first or second in each of its markets around the world with a network of global products (Gemstar, NDS, 20C Fox) overlaying local service providers (DirecTV, BSkyB, Star, Foxtel),” says ABN’s in-depth report.