[Satellite Today – 1-8-08] News Corp. has acquired a 15 percent stake in German pay-TV operator Premiere, News Corp. announced Jan. 7.
    Premiere is the main direct-to-home player in Germany with about 4 million customers. News Corp. paid 287 million euros ($423.2 million) in cash for the stake, which had been held by German media company Unitymedia.
    The deal strengthens News Corp.’s already strong position in the direct-to-home market in Europe. News Corp owns a 39 percent stake in BSkyB as well as all of Sky Italia, Italy’s leading pay-TV operator.