Murdoch's NDS Buys Streaming Video Company

NDS Group PLC, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., has made a small but potentially significant acquisition--just over $11 million in cash--of CastUp Inc., an Israeli-based streaming video provider.

From its London headquarters, NDS Group supplies technology to digital pay-television providers. CastUp--which services the Israeli subsidiaries of HP, MTV and Blockbuster, among other companies--now gives NDS an edge in the acquisition, processing, distribution, and monetization of streaming content online.

"We are very excited about the possibilities for new and comprehensive solutions for the delivery, management, and control of online media assets," said Dr. Abe Peled, NDS chairman and CEO.

Such expertise lends itself nicely to the broader ambitions of News Corp.--and the media industry as a whole--to better control the flow and monetization of content online.

Now that The Wall Street Journal's parent, Dow Jones & Co., has approved News Corp.'s $5 billion acquisition of the company, analysts and marketers have started asking how the two firms' online arms will be impacted.

Murdoch has repeatedly expressed his desire to accelerate the online integration of print and video.

Already, News Corp. owns the Twentieth Century Fox movie studio, the Fox broadcast network and cable's Fox News Channel, along with satellite TV company Sky Italia and significant stakes in British Sky Broadcasting PLC and The DirecTV Group Inc.

With Dow Jones, Murdoch can now combine reporting from the Journal, Barron's, Dow Jones Newswires and MarketWatch.com with video from Fox and Sky News, among other outlets.

On Tuesday, NDS said its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled thanks to a 31% increase in revenue. The company reported net income of $41.1 million--up from $19.7 million year-over-year. Revenue spiked to $201.9 million from $154.2 million.

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