More moves from the Murdoch empire. US entertainment group Liberty Media is using its right to buy $500 million of stock in The News Corporation.

This is good for News Corp, which now can finance its aim of getting a controlling interest in US satellite TV broadcaster DirectTV.

And Liberty benefits, as the group will now have a stake in News Corporation of nearly 20%, and is buying the shares at a discount.

News Corp’s earnings are expected to rise by 8 to 12 per cent, because of advertising growth.