TCI to Help Fox With News Channel:...

TCI to Help Fox With News Channel: Tele-Communications Inc. has agreed to launch Fox Inc.’s new 24-hour cable news channel in exchange for up to a 20% stake in the network, the companies said Monday. The agreement between the nation’s largest cable operator and Fox, which is owned by News Corp., means the news channel will reach 10 million of the homes served by TCI cable systems when it is launched. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but representatives for both companies acknowledged that TCI will receive initial marketing support to carry the new channel. The deal is a significant boost for Fox because cable operators have a limited number of channels available on their systems and media companies are rushing into the all-news cable business dominated by CNN.