Chapter 476: Australian Emperor

[Chapter 538: Australian Emperor]

In Beverly Hills, at Rupert Murdoch's lavish estate, a private ball was being held. Many luxury cars were parked around the estate, along with reporters from various television stations and newspapers. Many big names from the media and entertainment industries attended the ball. Arthur sat on a sofa in the back room, sipping a drink with John Malone, the chairman of Liberty Media.

"Arthur, your early strategies were right on the money. You've got two sports franchises in the Los Angeles area," John Malone chuckled.

The shareholders of Liberty Media were the same folks from TCI Group. Liberty Media teamed up with FOX to form Fox Sports Net. News Corp was also considering getting their own team to manage!

"I heard TCI is negotiating a merger with AT&T," Arthur brought up another topic. Liberty Media primarily focused on television network investments, but its shareholders were all giant stakeholders in TCI. John Malone, as TCI's chairman, had an abundance of television resources.

"Hey, Arthur, are you interested?" TCI had previously planned to sell to Bell Atlantic, but the deal was put on hold due to antitrust issues. The stock price for TCI had taken a hit, and now John Malone's focus had shifted to Liberty Media.

"I," Arthur shook his head, "I don't really understand cable operations and telecommunications. Galaxy is primarily headed in the direction of media and entertainment, like films, TV stations, and publishing!"

"Well, that's too bad," John Malone said, glancing at Arthur. "You looking to unload some ESPN shares? Liberty Media's shares in Starz, BET, and TBS could serve as bargaining chips!"

Arthur smirked, "Why, isn't FSN going to start broadcasting this year?"

John Malone shrugged in defeat, "It's not just about competing with ESPN; there's also TNT to consider!"

In the current sports channel landscape, besides the USA Network, ESPN and TNT stood out as leading sports entertainment networks. ESPN belonged to ABC, which had been acquired by Disney, while TNT was under TBS, which had also been bought by Time Warner. It was tough for FSN to carve out a niche!

Arthur patted his shoulder, "ESPN is a significant revenue stream for Galaxy. Why would I want to sell?"

Furthermore, the broadcasting rights for the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Los Angeles Kings in Southern California would still be valuable, even if CBS wasn't interested; ESPN would want them! Probably, compared to CBS, ESPN, being a dedicated sports channel, would offer a better price.

Disney owned the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL and part of the Anaheim Angels of MLB, all considered ESPN's resources. TBS also had the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA and the Atlanta Braves of MLB, and they were looking into starting a new ice hockey team in Atlanta.

In addition to sports channels running teams, other cable operators and media groups were also managing sports clubs: Comcast owned the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA and the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL. CVC and ITT co-owned the New York Knicks of the NBA and the New York Rangers of the NHL. The Chicago Tribune Company owned the Chicago Cubs of MLB, among others...

"Arthur," suddenly, a stunning tall figure approached him.

"Nicole, when did you get back?" Arthur hugged Nicole Kidman. "Didn't you say you were shooting in Australia?"

Nicole Kidman sweetly pecked Arthur's cheek twice. "I just got in from England. I wrapped up shooting recently. I'm Australian, you know. I've been in touch with 20th Century Fox all along!"

Well, News Corp was still considered an Australian company, after all, Rupert Murdoch was an Australian-American.

"I heard it's the new work from director Jane Campion, right?"

"Yeah, from PolyGram Films, the art film The Piano. Most of the shooting took place in Australia and England!"

Jane Campion was the filmmaker behind The Piano, a New Zealand director.

"After finishing Twister, it didn't take long for her to start production on The Piano. Aren't they collaborating with Galaxy anymore?"

Arthur nodded, "PolyGram now has some distribution channels in the U.S., releasing art films isn't an issue. Even if they are collaborating, they'd look for smaller independent distributors to partner up!"

If Galaxy, one of the big seven distributors, joined in, PolyGram would have little bargaining power. Nicole Kidman thoughtfully nodded. She had partnerships with both Village Roadshow in Australia and PolyGram Films in the UK. Plus, due to blockbusters like Speed and Batman Forever, Nicole had become a figurehead for Australia in Hollywood!

"Yeah, I'll be heading back to Australia at the end of the month to continue filming The Piano. I'll probably be back in March," Nicole Kidman said while linking her arm with Arthur. "Right now, it's summer in Australia. Want to go vacation in Sydney for a few days?"

Arthur wrapped his arm around her waist, "Unless there's nothing else, should we get out of here?"

"Sure!"

He had met everyone he needed to and said what he had to say. Arthur wasn't about to stick around and waste time.

...

Later that evening, at the Beverly Hills mansion.

"Ah," Nicole Kidman let out a little scream and collapsed onto the bed, her face glowing.

Arthur, lying on the girl's back, exhaled, squeezing her softness, then rolled over onto his side.

"Staying in America for a few days?" Arthur asked.

"Just two days. The Piano premieres in the fall," Nicole Kidman said as she cuddled into Arthur's chest, kissing him softly.

"Is it that urgent?"

"It's about a month before the film goes to final cut," she looked at Arthur, "Are we going to Sydney? I can keep you company for a few days!"

Arthur nodded, reaching out to touch her long brown hair that she dyed for the role in The Piano. With her fair skin, Nicole's beauty was stunning.

"Right, let's pay a visit to that prince of News Corp, Lachlan Murdoch!"

Arthur smiled; Rupert Murdoch's eldest son managed The Australian newspaper. Backed by News Corp, he ruled like a local lord.

*****

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