DirecTV Extends Contract With NDS Group

DirecTV has inked a deal with News Corp.’s NDS Group to continue to provide conditional-access technology and services to the direct-broadcast satellite operator until June 2013.

“We have extended the term of our relationship with NDS based on the dependability of NDS conditional access technologies and related services,” DirecTV chief technology officer Rômulo Pontual said, in a statement.

Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

News Corp. is selling its 39% interest in DirecTV to Liberty Media in return for Liberty’s 19% voting stake in News Corp., three regional sports networks and cash. The deal, currently pending Federal Communications Commission approval, is expected to close by year-end.

DirecTV, through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, has 16.6 million customers in the U.S. and 4.6 million customers in Brazil, Mexico and Latin American countries.