SKY Italia subscribers down 63,000 in 4Q09

NEW YORK, NY — News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) today reported financial results for the second quarter ended December 31, 2009.

Direct Broadcast Satellite Television

SKY Italia reported a second quarter segment operating loss of $30 million, a decrease of $40 million versus the $10 million in operating income reported a year ago. Local currency revenue declined by 2% as a result of lower subscription revenue compared with the prior year quarter. Overall costs were flat as compared to the year ago quarter as higher soccer costs were offset by savings in other programming costs. The quarter-end subscriber base of 4.74 million declined by 63,000 compared with the previous quarter-end, as gross subscriber additions of 150,000 in the quarter were more than offset by existing subscriber cancellations.

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