COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

Comsat Files $250-Million Suit Against News Corp.: The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland alleges that the Australian media conglomerate breached a contract for satellite time. The suit by Comsat Corp. said Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. illegally canceled a contract to use a Comsat satellite system for broadcast services in Latin America and switched to rival PanAmSat Corp. But News Corp. officials said Comsat failed to comply with its contractual obligations and insisted it had sufficient grounds to defend itself against the suit, which is seeking $250 million in damages. Also named in the suit are PanAmSat, a Connecticut-based satellite services company, and Grupo Televisa, a Mexican conglomerate that provides Spanish-language programming.