Filed by The News Corporation
Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933 and
Deemed Filed Pursuant to Rule 14a-12
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Subject Companies: General Motors Corporation
Commission File No. 001-00143
Hughes Electronics Corporation
Commission File No. 000-26035
TESTIMONY OF RUPERT MURDOCH,
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE, THE NEWS CORPORATION, LTD.
BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
SCIENCE & TRANSPORTATION
"MEDIA OWNERSHIP"
MAY 22, 2003
Good Morning, Chairman McCain, Senator Hollings, and Members of the Committee.
Thank you for the invitation to testify today regarding News Corporation's
proposed acquisition of a 34% interest in Hughes Electronics Corporation.
Let me say at the outset that we believe that this acquisition has the
potential to profoundly change the multichannel video marketplace in the United
States to the ultimate benefit of all pay-TV customers, whether they are
direct-to-home satellite or cable subscribers. It is my hope, and my goal, that
as a result of this acquisition, Hughes' DIRECTV operation will be infused with
the strategic vision, expertise, and resources necessary for it to bring
innovation and competition to the multichannel marketplace and, of course, to
the televisions of tens of millions of American viewers.
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The public interest benefits of this transaction are manifold, but I would like
to briefly touch on three key areas today:
First, News Corporation's outstanding track record of providing innovative new
products and services to consumers, a track record that it is determined to
replicate at Hughes and DIRECTV;
Second, the specific consumer benefits that will be realized from this
transaction, including improvements in local-into-local service, new and
improved interactive services, and the many new diversity programs News
Corporation will bring to Hughes; and
Third, the absence of any horizontal or vertical merger concerns about this
transaction. This transaction will only increase the already-intense
competition in the programming and distribution markets, and market realities
will compel our companies to continue the open and non-discriminatory practices
each company has lived by. Nonetheless, to eliminate any possible concerns over
the competitive effects of vertical integration, the parties have agreed as a
matter of contract to significant program access commitments, and have asked
the FCC to make those commitments an enforceable condition of the transfer of
Hughes' DBS license.
News Corporation's track record of innovation as a content provider and as a
satellite broadcaster is without parallel. Our company has a history of
challenging the established - and often stagnant - media with new products and
services for television viewers around the world. Perhaps our first and
best-known effort to offer new choices to consumers in the broadcasting arena
came with the establishment of the FOX network in 1986. FOX brought much-needed
competition to the "Big 3" broadcast networks at a time when conventional
wisdom said it couldn't be done. Seventeen years later, we have proved
unambiguously that it could be done, with FOX reigning as the number one
network so far this calendar year in the highly valued "adults 18-49"
demographic. Along the way, we redefined the TV genre with shows like The
Simpsons, In Living Color, The X-Files, and America's Most Wanted, and more
recently 24, Boston Public, Malcolm in the Middle, The Bernie Mac Show, and the
biggest hit on American TV, American Idol.
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The FOX network was launched on the back of the Fox Television Stations group,
an innovator in local news and informational programming since it was first
formed. Today, Fox-owned stations air more than 800 hours of regularly
scheduled local news each week - an average of 23 hours per station. We have
increased the amount of news on these stations by 57 percent, on average,
compared to the previous owners. Viewers demand more local news, and we provide
it. Fox-owned stations were often the first - and in many markets are still the
only - stations to offer multiple hours of local news and informational
programming each weekday morning. This commitment to local news extends well
beyond the stations we own. Since 1994, Fox has assisted more than 100
affiliates in launching local newscasts.
In addition to providing greater choice and innovation in network entertainment
and local news, we have also redefined the way Americans watch sports. With
viewer-friendly innovations such as the "FOX Box" and the first "Surround
Sound" stereo in NFL broadcasts, the catcher cam in baseball, the glowing puck
in hockey, and the car-tracking graphic in NASCAR, FOX has made sports more
accessible and exciting for the average fan. FOX Sports Net, launched in 1996,
has provided the first and only competitive challenge to the incumbent sports
channel, ESPN. Fox Sports Nets' 19 regional sports channels, reaching 79
million homes, regularly beat ESPN in several key head-to-head battles. In
2002, Major League Baseball on ESPN averaged a 1.1 rating. On Fox Sports Net,
baseball scored an average 3.5 rating in the markets it covers. The NBA on ESPN
has averaged a 1.2 rating during the current season. In Fox Sports Net's
markets, it has rated a 2.2. The key to Fox Sports Net's success is its
delivery of what sports fans want most passionately: live, local games, whether
at the professional, collegiate, or high school level, coupled with outstanding
national sports events and programming.
Perhaps News Corp.'s most stunning success against conventional wisdom--and our
most innovative disruption of the status quo-- is the Fox News Channel,
launched in 1996. A chorus of doubters said CNN owned the cable news space and
no one could possibly compete. A scant five years later, Fox News Channel
overtook CNN, and since early 2002 has consistently finished first among the
cable news channels in total day ratings. Growing from 17 million subscribers
at launch to almost 82 million subscribers this month, Fox News Channel boasts
some of the most popular shows on cable and
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satellite. I think it is fair to say Fox transformed the cable news business,
introducing innovative technology and programming, and bringing a fresh choice
and perspective to American news viewers.
Across the dial on American television are examples of where our challenges to
the status quo have made a difference for viewers and proven we could be
competitive against entrenched competition. We've launched and expanded FX, a
general entertainment channel; we've launched the movie channel FXM; and we've
re-launched and expanded the Speed Channel, a channel devoted to auto racing
enthusiasts. And in January 2001, we launched National Geographic Channel with
our partner, the National Geographic Society, into nine million homes. Today,
Nat Geo is the fastest-growing cable network in the nation with 43 million
subscribers and is making steady progress in the ratings against the
established industry leader, The Discovery Channel.
News Corp.'s track record of innovation is not limited to the United States.
News Corp. will bring a wealth of innovation to Hughes and DIRECTV from its
British DTH platform, BSkyB. We launched BSkyB in 1989 with only four channels
of programming. In 1998, frustrated by the limitations of analog technology and
determined to give viewers even wider choices, BSkyB launched a digital service
that boasted 140 channels. In 1999, in order to speed the conversion to digital
and to drive penetration, BSkyB offered free set-top boxes and dishes. The
conversion to digital took three years and cost BSkyB nearly one billion
dollars, but by 2001, when the transition to digital was complete, BSkyB's
subscriber base had grown to 5 million homes. Through BSkyB's digital offering,
BSkyB viewers may choose from 389 channels delivering programming 24 hours each
day. They also have a vast array of new services, including world-first
interactive innovations such as a TV news service that allows viewers to choose
from multiple segments being broadcast simultaneously on a news channel,
multiple camera angles during sporting events, or multiple screens of
programming within a certain genre. In addition, BSkyB viewers have access to
online shopping, banking, games, email, travel, tourism and information
services. With the launch of Europe's first fully integrated digital video
recorder in 2001, BSkyB customers won access to even more interactive
capabilities and viewing choices.
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Upon completion of this transaction, News Corp. will bring the same spirit of
innovation to the DBS business in the U.S, in the process redefining the
choices Americans have when they watch television. This spirit of never-say-die
competition and News Corp.'s demonstrated determination to provide
ever-expanding services to the public have the potential to re-energize the
entire American multichannel video marketplace.
To my second point about this transaction: its benefits to consumers. Apart
from a history of bringing new competition and innovation to the television
industry, News Corp. has been tremendously successful in bringing tangible
benefits to consumers over nearly two decades of operating both here in the
United States and abroad. This transaction will be no exception, enabling us to
share our best practices across our platforms and across geographical
boundaries to the benefit of consumers. These benefits will be very real, and
often easily quantifiable.
One of the first enhancements to DIRECTV's service that News Corp.'s investment
in Hughes will bring will be more local television stations for subscribers,
offering consumers a more compelling alternative to cable. News Corp., as a
leading U.S. broadcaster, was the first proponent of local-into-local service
as part of our American Sky Broadcasting ("ASkyB") satellite DTH venture six
years ago. In fact, I testified before Congress on this very topic, urging
passage of copyright legislation to allow the retransmission of local signals
by DBS. ASkyB conceived and designed a DBS spot beam satellite to implement
this previously unheard of idea. As a broadcast company, News Corp. was
convinced then - as it is now - that DBS will be the strongest possible
competitor to cable only if it can provide consumers with the local broadcast
channels they have come to rely on for local news, weather, traffic and sports.
With that in mind, News Corp. is committed to dramatically increasing DIRECTV's
present local-into-local commitment of 100 DMAs by providing local-into-local
service in as many of the 210 DMAs as possible, and to do so as soon as
economically and technologically feasible. To that end, we are already actively
considering a number of alternative technologies, including using some of the
Ka-band satellite capacity on Hughes Network Systems' SPACEWAY system;
seamlessly incorporating digital signals from local DTV stations into DIRECTV
set-top boxes equipped with DTV tuners; and by
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exploring and developing other emerging technologies that could be used to
deliver local signals, either alone or in combination with one of the above
alternatives.
In addition, News Corp. is exploring new technologies that promise to improve
spectrum efficiency or otherwise increase available capacity so that DIRECTV
can expand the amount of HDTV content. Options include use of Ka-band capacity,
higher order modulation schemes, such as the 8PSK technology FOX uses for its
broadcast distribution to affiliated stations, and further improvements in
compression technology. News Corp. will urge DIRECTV to carry many more than
the four HDTV channels it currently carries and the five channels that some
cable operators carry. In this way, we hope to help drive the transition to
digital television by providing compelling programming in a format that will
encourage consumers to invest in digital television sets.
As to broadband, News Corp. will work aggressively to build on the services
already provided by Hughes to make broadband available throughout the U.S.,
particularly in rural areas. Broadband solutions for all Americans could come
from partnering with other satellite broadband providers, DSL providers, or new
potential broadband providers using broadband over power line systems, or from
other emerging technologies. News Corp. believes it is critical that consumers
have vibrant broadband choices that compete with cable's video and broadband
services on capability, quality and price.
The public will also benefit from the efficiencies and economies of scope and
scale that News Corporation will bring to DIRECTV. We believe by sharing "best
practices," and by using management and expertise from our worldwide satellite
operations, we will be able to substantially reduce DIRECTV's annual expenses
by $65 to $135 million annually. Other efficiencies include sharing facilities
of the various subsidiaries of News Corp. and Hughes in the U.S., and
developing and efficiently deploying innovations, such as next-generation
set-top boxes with upgraded interactive television and digital video recorder
capabilities and state-of-the-art anti-piracy techniques. When Hughes becomes
part of News Corp.'s global family of DTH affiliates, it will benefit from a
number of scale economies that will more efficiently defray the enormous
research and development costs associated with bringing new features and
services to market.
7
Moreover, common technology standards for both hardware and
software across the News Corp. DTH platforms should help to drive down consumer
equipment and software costs. Through these various cost savings, DIRECTV will
be able to finance more innovations in programming and technology to ensure
that it achieves and maintains the highest level of service for its customers
at competitive prices.
News Corp. also plans to bring to DIRECTV the "best practices" it has developed
at its satellite operations in other countries. DIRECTV's "churn rate" - that
is, the rate at which customers discontinue use of the service - is around 18
percent, whereas BSkyB's annual churn rate is currently 9.4 percent. By using
BSkyB's "best practices" and accelerating the pace of innovation, we predict
that DIRECTV should experience a 2 to 3 percent decline in its annual churn
rate. We calculate that every percentage point reduction in churn will add
approximately $33 million to Hughes' earnings. With these additional financial
resources, DIRECTV will be able to finance additional initiatives in research,
development and marketing.
Another important element that News Corp. will bring to Hughes and DIRECTV is
its deep and proven commitment to equal opportunity and diversity.
Specifically, the diversity initiatives we will implement include:
|X| A commitment to carry more programming on DIRECTV targeted at
culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse audiences;
|X| An extensive training program for minority entrepreneurs seeking to
develop program channels for carriage by multichannel video systems;
|X| A program for actively hiring and promoting minorities for management
positions;
|X| An extensive internship programming for high school and college
students;
|X| Improved procurement practices that ensure outreach and opportunities
for minority vendors; and
|X| Upgraded internal and external communications, including the Hughes
web site, to assist implementation of the above initiatives.
Finally, to my third point: there are no horizontal or vertical merger concerns
arising from this transaction. Because this transaction involves an investment
in DIRECTV, a multichannel video programming distributor with no programming
interests, by News
8
Corp., a programmer with no multichannel distribution interests, no
"horizontal" competition issues arise. There will be no decrease in the number
of U.S. competitors in either the multichannel video distribution market or the
programming market. To the contrary, because of News Corp.'s plans to bring
"best practices" and innovations to DIRECTV, competition in these markets will
intensify and consumers will be presented with more and better choices.
The transaction does result in a "vertical" integration of assets because of
the association of DIRECTV's distribution platform and News Corp.'s programming
assets. But this "vertical" integration is not anti-competitive for two
reasons. First, neither News Corp. nor DIRECTV has sufficient power in its
relevant market to be able to act in an anti-competitive manner. DIRECTV has a
modest 12 percent of the national multichannel market, compared to as much as
29 percent of the market held by the largest cable operator. News Corp. has a
modest 3.9 percent of the national programming channels, compared to the
largest cable programmer at 15.2 percent of the channels.
Second, rational business behavior will prevent News Corp. and DIRECTV from
engaging in anti-competitive behavior. As a programmer, News Corp.'s business
model is predicated on achieving the widest possible distribution for our
programming in order to maximize advertising revenue and subscriber fees. Any
diminution in distribution reduces our ability to maximize profit from that
programming. Even if we were voluntarily willing to lower our earnings
potential by withholding our programming from competing distributors, we would
be precluded from doing so by the FCC's program access rules. Similarly,
DIRECTV has every economic incentive to draw from the widest spectrum of
attractive programming, regardless of source, in order to maximize subscriber
revenue. In short, it makes no business sense for either party to do anything
to limit our potential customer base or our programming possibilities.
Notwithstanding these strong economic and business incentives, News Corp. and
Hughes have agreed - as a matter of contract - to a series of program access
undertakings to eliminate any concerns over the competitive effects of the
proposed transaction. We have asked the FCC to adopt these program access
commitments, which are attached to my written testimony, as a condition of the
approval of our
9
Application for Transfer of Control that was filed at the FCC on May 2. These
program access commitments are largely the same as those required of cable
operators, but in some respects go further. These commitments will:
|X| Prevent DIRECTV from discriminating against unaffiliated programmers;
|X| Prevent DIRECTV from entering into an exclusive arrangement with any
affiliated programmer, including News Corp.; and
|X| Prevent News Corp. from offering any national or regional cable
programming channels it controls on an exclusive basis to any
distributor and from discriminating among distributors in price, terms
or conditions.
These extensive commitments apply for as long as the FCC's program access rules
remain in effect and News Corp. owns an interest in DIRECTV. They make it clear
that News Corp. and Hughes are committed to fair, open and non-discriminatory
program access practices that go well beyond what the law requires of DBS
operators, cable programmers, and even cable operators.
In any event, neither News Corp. nor Hughes is among the top five media
companies, by expenditure, in the United States. As you can see in the chart
attached to my testimony, News Corp. is sixth with 2.8 percent of total
industry expenditures, and Hughes is eighth with 2.2 percent. Even combining
the expenditures of News Corp. and Hughes would place the company fifth in
expenditures behind AOL Time Warner with 10.1 percent, Viacom with 6.4 percent,
Comcast with 6.3 percent, and Sony at 5.3 percent. If the expenditures from
Disney's theme parks were included in its total, the combination of News Corp.
and Hughes would rank sixth in total "entertainment" revenues.
In closing, I believe this transaction represents an exciting association
between two companies with the assets, experience and history of innovation
that will ensure DIRECTV can become an even more effective competitor in the
multichannel market. There will be significant public interest benefits for
consumers as a result of this transaction, including bringing more local
channels to more markets, innovations such as set-top boxes with next
generation interactive television and digital video recorder
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capabilities, and a diversity program that will set the standard for the rest
of the entertainment industry.
Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to your questions.
***
EXHIBIT F
Program Access Requirements:
News Corp. and DIRECTV Commitments
News Corp. and DIRECTV will be bound by the FCC's program access rules
(otherwise applicable to vertically-integrated satellite cable programming
services) regardless of whether News Corp., DIRECTV or any of their
program services is deemed to be a vertically integrated satellite cable
programming vendor under such rules.
In addition, News Corp. and DirecTV will make the following commitments,
above and beyond those contained in the FCC's program access rules.
o News Corp. will not offer any of its existing or future national and
regional programming services on an exclusive basis to any MVPD and
will continue to make such services available to all MVPDs on a
non-exclusive basis and non-discriminatory terms and conditions.
o Neither News Corp. nor DIRECTV will discriminate against unaffiliated
programming services in the selection, price, terms or conditions of
carriage.
o DIRECTV will not enter into an exclusive distribution arrangement with
any Affiliated Program Rights Holder. "Affiliated Program Rights
Holder" includes (i) a program rights holder in which News Corp. or
DIRECTV holds a non-controlling "Attributable Interest" (as determined
by the FCC's program access attribution rules); and (ii) a program
rights holder in which an entity holding an non-controlling
Attributable Interest in News Corp. or DIRECTV holds an Attributable
Interest, provided that News Corp. or DIRECTV has actual knowledge of
such entity's Attributable Interest in such program rights holder.
Liberty Media owns approximately 18% of the non-voting equity of News
Corp. Liberty Media currently is considered a vertically integrated
programmer under the FCC's program access rules and, as such, is
restricted in its ability to enter into exclusive or discriminatory
agreements with respect to satellite-delivered cable programming
services in which it has an Attributable Interest. In the event
Liberty Media is no longer deemed a vertically integrated programmer
(including by reason of the sale of its Puerto Rican cable interests)
and so long as Liberty Media holds an Attributable Interest in News
Corp., DIRECTV will deal with Liberty Media with respect to
programming services it controls as if it continued as a vertically
integrated programmer subject to the program access rules.
DIRECTV may continue to compete for programming that is lawfully
offered on an exclusive basis by an unaffiliated program rights holder
(e.g., NFL Sunday Ticket).
o Neither News Corp. nor DIRECTV (including any entity over which either
exercises control) shall unduly or improperly influence: (i) the
decision of any Affiliated Program Rights Holder to sell programming
to an unaffiliated MVPD; or (ii) the prices, terms and conditions of
sale of programming by any Affiliated Program Rights Holder to an
unaffiliated MVPD.
These commitments will apply to News Corp. and DIRECTV for the later of
(1) as long as the FCC deems News Corp. to have an Attributable Interest
in DIRECTV and the FCC's program access rules are in effect (provided that
if the program access rules are modified these commitments shall be
modified to conform to any revised rules adopted by the FCC) or (2) if
these commitments are embodied in a consent decree or other appropriate
order issued by or agreement with the DOJ, FTC or FCC, for the term
specified by such consent decree, order or agreement.
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
COMPANY REVENUES AS A %
2002 U.S. MEDIA OF TOTAL MEDIA INDUSTRY
REVENUES
COMPANY (IN MILLIONS)
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
1 AOL Time Warner $32,630 10.1%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
2 VIACOM $20,670 6.4%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
3 Comcast $20,470 6.3%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
4 SONY Corporation $17,090 5.3%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
5 The Walt Disney Co. $13,110 4.0%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
6 News Corporation $9,130 2.8%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
7 Vivendi Universal $7,580 2.3%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
8 Hughes Electronics $7,190 2.2%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
9 General Electric/NBC/Telemundo $7,150 2.2%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
10 Clear Channel Communications $6,920 2.1%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
11 Cox Enterprises $6,400 2.0%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
12 Gannett Co. $5,590 1.7%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
13 The Tribune Company $5,400 1.7%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
14 Bertelsmann $5,270 1.6%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
15 Echostar Communications $4,750 1.5%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
16 Charter Communications $4,570 1.4%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
17 Advance Publications $4,000 1.2%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
18 Hearst Corporation $3,990 1.2%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
19 Adelphia Communications $3,340 1.0%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
20 The New York Times Company $3,080 1.0%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
21 Cablevision Systems Corporation $3,070 0.9%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
22 Knight Ridder $2,840 0.9%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
23 Nintendo $2,130 0.7%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
24 Bloomberg $2,110 0.7%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
25 Liberty Media $2,080 0.6%
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------
TOTALS FOR THE TOP 25 MEDIA COMPANIES $200,560 62.1%
(BY REVENUE)
***
% Share of U.S. Total Media Industry, By Company
[Chart]
COMPETITION FLOURISHES AMONGST A MULTITUDE OF MAJOR MEDIA COMPANIES
o The largest 25 media companies collectively account for only 60% of the
Total Media Industry.
o Even the largest media company has only a small portion of the Total
Media Industry.
END NOTES
1. Media include the following industry segments: broadcast television,
broadcast radio, cable & satellite providers, cable & satellite programming,
newspaper publishing, consumer magazine publishing, consumer book publishing,
consumer Internet sites, filmed entertainment, recorded music, interactive
entertainment, and outdoor advertising (the "Media"). Total U.S. expenditures
(end-user spending) on the Media was estimated to be $324.006 billion in 2002
(the "Total Media Industry"). Source: PQ Media, LLC; Veronis Suhler Stevenson.
Company revenues for the Media are reported as a percentage of the Total Media
Industry. Since most private companies do not publicly report financial
performance, data on total revenues for the Media is unavailable. The Total
Media Industry, which includes expenditures on both publicly- and
privately-owned companies, approximates total U.S. revenue for both public and
private companies operating in the Media.
2. Corporate SEC filings for AOL Time Warner, Comcast, News Corporation, CSC
Holdings and Tribune Company do not separately break out revenues for certain
segments (e.g., sports teams) that are not among the segments that comprise the
Total Media Industry.
3. Corporate SEC filings for Viacom and Clear Channel Communications and
Bertelsmann's Annual Report do not separately break out revenues for certain
segments (e.g., theme parks, live entertainment and media services) that are
not among the segments that comprise the Total Media Industry.
4. As reported in its 10-K, Comcast's figures include unaudited pro forma
revenues for AT&T Broadband, which merged with Comcast in November 2002.
5. News Corp.'s figures include U.S. and Canadian revenues for both Fox
Entertainment Group, Inc. and Harper Collins, but exclude revenues for the New
York Post.
6. SONY, Vivendi Universal, Hughes Electronics, GE/NBC/Telemundo, CSC Holdings,
Nintendo, and Liberty Media figures may include some non-U.S. revenues.
7. The figures for Cox Enterprises are 2001 revenues and have been derived from
the company's web site, http://www.coxenterprises.com.
8. Adelphia Communications' figures are an estimate based on financial
statements filed by the company with the United States Bankruptcy Court on
November 25, 2002. See Mike Farrell, Adelphia's Numbers Aren't All Bad,
Multichannel News, December 2, 2002, at 6.
9. Revenues for the following, privately-held companies have been derived from
Advertising Age: Advance Publications, Hearst Corporation and Bloomberg. See
Leading Media Companies, Advertising Age, August 19, 2002, at S-2. The revenue
figures for these companies are 2001 figures and may exclude certain revenues
from certain industry segments that comprise the definition of the Total Media
Industry.
This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation
of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any
jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior
to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such
jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a
prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended.
This communication contains statements that constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and
uncertainties, and that actual results or developments may differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors,
including financial community and rating agency perceptions of the company and
its business, operations, financial condition and the industry in which it
operates and the factors described in the company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including the sections entitled "Risk
Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations" contained therein. The company disclaims any obligation
to update the forward-looking statements contained herein.
In connection with the proposed transactions, The News Corporation Limited
("News Corp."), General Motors Corporation ("GM") and Hughes Electronics
Corporation ("Hughes") will file relevant materials with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including one or more registration statement(s)
that contain a prospectus and proxy/consent solicitation statement. Investors
and security holders are urged to read these documents (if and when they
become available) and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, as well
as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because they will contain
important information. Investors and security holders may obtain these
documents free of charge at the SEC's Internet web site at www.sec.gov. The
documents may also be obtained free of charge by directing such request to:
News America Incorporated, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 7th Floor, New York,
New York 10036, Attention: Investor Relations. Such documents are not
currently available.