He's lived long, and he's certainly looking prosperous.

I hear two hedge funds - Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) - looked at taking over Rupert Murdoch's 43 per cent stake in Sky Television, but talks failed over the price.

Sky TV negotiators were this morning still in talks for rights with the NRL body - on the eve of the 2013 league season kickoff.

Investors have flocked to buy News Corp's 44 per cent stake in Sky Network Television in what a broking source said was the biggest block trade on the NZX in a decade.

Rupert Murdoch is planning to create a national cable sports network in the United States to compete with ESPN.

Shares in Sky TV will resume trading on the NZX this morning, after the company said News Corp had successfully sold its 43.6pc stake in the company.

Rupert Murdoch's sell-down of his 43.6 per cent share of Sky TV leaves local management with greater influence over the pay television operator.

News Corp has confirmed it is selling out of New Zealand's Sky TV, netting $815m for its nearly 44 per cent stake in the country's dominant pay TV operator.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is understood to be selling out of New Zealand's Sky Television, and shares are expected to go on a trading halt this morning.

For the second year in a row more non-subscribers had a "strong" interest in taking up Sky.

Sky Network Television has reported a 9 per cent gain in first-half profit as subscribers migrated to its My Sky premium service and spent more.

Sky television received dozens of complaints from viewers demanding refunds, angry that the fight finished two rounds earlier than expected.

A former critic of Sky TV says his new public-service channel Face TV would not be going to air without the help of the pay television operator.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully appoints political lobbyist, and old friend, to board of Antarctic New Zealand.

Peter Jackson is said to be enthusiastic about monitoring off-set conditions for animals used in film productions, writes John Drinnan.

Rugby fans are still in danger of missing out on seeing the All Blacks play Italy next weekend, which would be the first time in years an ABs match hasn't been screened live.

An outsider tuning in to the Valerie Adams medal ceremony could be excused for thinking Adams came from the small Pacific nation of "ANZ Bank".