News Corp has agreed to sell its stake in Stream to rival media giant Vivendi Universal, which aims to combine the pay-TV unit with its own Italian subscription television venture, Telepiu.
By ending the costly rivalry between Stream and Telepiu, Vivendi hopes it can build a profitable business.
The deal, however, is still subject to approval by Italian regulators and will attract strong opposition from Italian soccer clubs, given the implications for negotiations over soccer rights, which, until now, have been driven by the rivalry between Telepiu and Stream.
Speculation is growing that Murdoch may now shift his focus to building a bigger interest in Europe's biggest media market, Germany.
The move comes just a day after Murdoch said sports rights had 'got beyond an economic level' in announcing a $606m operating loss for his News Corporation.
Italian soccer may soon be shown on a single pay-TV platform now that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has pulled out of Stream, its ill-fated pay television venture.
