BUSINESS
February 13, 1994 | JOHN LIPPMAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Rupert Murdoch is learning the politics of global TV the hard way. Weeks after acquiring control of Star TV, the linchpin of his worldwide television empire, Murdoch managed to offend some of his most important viewers--Asian political leaders--when he declared satellite TV to be an "unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere." The remarks, part of a speech made in London and beamed live to a Hong Kong breakfast given by Star TV, startled the Chinese in the audience.
BUSINESS
January 13, 1994 | JOHN LIPPMAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Rupert Murdoch's Star TV, the media mogul's big gamble in pan-Asian satellite broadcasting, appears to be off to a promising start despite recent cutbacks, management turmoil and censorship problems in some countries. Last summer, Murdoch bought a 64% stake in Star TV for $545 million. The acquisition gave his global News Corp. an opening in the world's fastest-growing TV market, which encompasses more than 2.5 billion people.
ENTERTAINMENT
August 7, 1993 | DONNA ROSENTHAL, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Guns N' Roses are rocking on MTV, but 26-year-old Richard Li Tzar-kai Li doesn't notice. "Lou Grant," the BBC news, a Mandarin-language soap opera and a tennis tournament are playing on the four other TV screens in his office, but Li ignores them, too--he's busy snapping orders at one of his executives. Li's Star TV is the hottest thing in global television, a pan-regional network that's beating out potential rivals and astonishing advertisers.
BUSINESS
July 27, 1993 | JOHN LIPPMAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Rupert Murdoch, in a giant leap toward becoming a global broadcaster, said Monday that his News Corp. will acquire a 63.6% stake in Star TV, the fast-growing Hong Kong-based satellite television service that spans Asia, for $525 million. The announcement marks a stunning turnaround for the global media baron, who only two years ago teetered near bankruptcy. Now, with Star TV in his communications empire, Murdoch will be the only broadcaster in the world with TV networks on three continents.