News Corp. Buys Sky Italia Stake

LONDON -- News Corporation today acquired Telecom Italia S.p.A.'s 19.9% stake in Sky Italia S.r.l., the satellite pay TV platform in Italy. News Corporation paid EUR 88 million for the stake, bringing News Corporation companies to hold 100% of Sky Italia.

   The platform has over 2,700,000 subscribers throughout Italy.

   The News Corporation Limited (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NCP, NCPDP) had total assets as of June 30, 2004 of approximately US$51 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$21 billion. News Corporation is a diversified international media and entertainment company with operations in eight industrysegments: filmed entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast satellite television; magazines and inserts; newspapers; book publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Basin.