News Corp. to Sell Control of Three Chinese TV Channels

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS) said it will sell control of its three Chinese TV channels.

The deal will hand controlling stakes in the channels to China Media Capital, a private equity fund, Reuters reported. China Media Capital has 5 billion yuan ($793 million) in assets under management and is backed by Shanghai Media Group, the country's second-largest media company, as well as China Development Bank and China Broadband capital.

The terms of the deal were not released. The three channels - Xing Kong, Xing Kong International and Channel Mainland China – were generating no more than $50 million of revenue a year in total, according to analyst Vivek Couto.

"News Corp., after two decades in China, has done the inevitable in the last few years," Couto, an analyst with Media Partners Asia told Reuters. "They see the best option to grow in the market is to make sure the business is in control of local hands."