10-11-2008

Rupert Murdoch drops TV Puls

By Katarzyna Grynienko
    After the withdraw of the News Corporation from the stations shareholders group, TV Puls is looking for a new investor.
    Rupert Murdoch's company sold its shares in the station to the remaining investors last week. Since early November, 51% of the commercial Telewizja Puls (www.pulstv.pl) belongs to the Polish Franciscan Fraternal Order and 49% is held by private investor Dariusz Debski. The internal structure of the station had changed. The previous three person board has been replaced by Dariusz Debski as the head of the company. The station has sufficiant funds to prosper succesfully for the next couple of months, but is in need of a new investor partner.

    "Times are rather difficult, but Puls is in a much better situation today then is was when we first attracted News Corporation. We have a bigger reach, a universal broadcasting concession, and the digitalization stage is within our grasp," Debski told Stopklatka.

    Meanwhile, News Corporation (www.neswcorp.pl) has not completely dropped its business interests in Poland. The company still ownes shares in News Outdoor Poland and the Polish version of the community portal My Space.