News Corp. swaps DirecTV stake with Liberty

December 23, 2006 The swap, which ought to happen by the middle of next year after regulatory approval, should move Liberty into the U.S. media big leagues by adding some distribution muscle to its content assets from its taking control of satellite TV giant DirecTV, which boasts 15.6 million subscribers. The companies said "it is expected" that DirecTV president and CEO Chase Carey will remain in that role, though Liberty will appoint new directors to fill board seats that will be vacated by News Corp. representatives. After the deal was announced Friday morning, Moody's Investors Service lowered its rating outlook on DirecTV to negative from stable due to Liberty Media being a speculative-grade company that employs more aggressive financial policies than does News Corp.

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