COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

Rupert Murdoch Reportedly Near TV Deal With China: The News Corp. chairman is negotiating a joint venture with China Central Television to build a national satellite television network, Newsweek reports in its latest issue, a deal that would give Murdoch an unbeatable lead in the race for China’s hundreds of millions of viewers. The magazine quotes a source close to the talks as saying Murdoch’s Hong Kong-based Star TV would provide programming to the infant pay-television network. In return, Star would allow CCTV to use its news satellite AsiaSat II, the magazine said.