Contract Updates

Court TV is out of contract with 3 affiliates (representing approx 26% of its sub base); Starz’s deal with EchoStar has expired, and its deal with DirecTV is over at the end of the month; and GSN is out of contract with DirecTV, which accounts for 25% of its sub base (11% of its total revenue). Reps from all 3 nets are negotiating to firm up these deals, Liberty says in its 10K SEC filing. — Liberty expects its 2 tracking stocks to be completed in May. Liberty Interactive will include QVC and Liberty’s interest in IAC and Expedia. Starz and other assets, including its Time Warner stake will be housed under Liberty Capital. As for Time Warner, the 2 are talking. "They have announced their intent to repurchase quite a lot of stock," said new CEO Greg Maffei. "We are a big stockholder and we would love to get some operating assets." — Liberty saw 4Q revenue jumped 13% to $2.5bln, thanks to QVC. The shopping channel’s rev rose 14% to $2.1bln. Starz rev was virtually flat, falling to $247mln from $248mln.