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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - News America Digital Publishing will provide broadband online news and sports programming to high-speed online service Road Runner, the companies said Wednesday.
The agreement could provide a much-needed boost to Road Runner's broadband Internet service, which is playing catch-up to @Home Corp. (ATHM) in terms of subscribers and brand recognition.
News America is the interactive media division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS). The deal is News America's first official agreement to create content for cable-modem customers.
"We think broadband offers great opportunities to leverage what we've been doing for many, many years into the digital world," said Scott Ehrlich, News America senior vice president and executive producer.
The companies will offer specialized programming designed to take advantage of Road Runner's high-speed network. Fox's offerings will include content that highlights high-quality video.
Fox Sports Online and Fox News Online, both produced by News America, will update on a 24-hour basis and provide breaking news, scores and sports schedules. The service is expected to roll out in the second quarter.
The companies did not disclose the deal's financial terms.
Searching for subscribers
Road Runner is hoping Fox News and Sports content will attract more customers as the stakes for high-speed Internet access rapidly grows higher.
Last month, @Home acquired Web portal Excite Inc. (XCIT) in $6.7-billion stock deal designed to extend @Home's reach to Excite's 17 million registered users.
Although @Home's subscriber base of 331,000 pales in comparison to such traditional Internet providers as America Online Inc. (AOL), it's still nearly double Road Runner's 180,000 subscribers.
Cable-based Internet access can provide service up to 300 times faster than services over traditional phone lines.
Analysts said both Road Runner and @Home are searching for ways to make their services more attractive to consumers, particularly as telecommunications and cable companies scramble to build high-speed networks.
"News Corp. is a very, very large source of content," said Philip Sirlin, analyst at Schroder & Co. "These [high-speed Internet access] companies are trying to figure out how to attract customers to their portals."
Sirlin noted that Road Runner already has another big-name content partner in Time Warner Inc. (TWX), which is a part owner of the company. (Time Warner is also the parent company of CNN and CNNfn.)
In addition to Time Warner, Road Runner's partners include MediaOne Group (UMG), Microsoft Corp. (MFST), Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) and Advance/Newhouse.
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