Ertegun's Hospitalization Puts TGRT Sale to Murdoch at Risk

The condition of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who is on life support after a fall at a concert, has cast uncertainty over the recent acquisition of Turkish national channel TGRT by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. His wife, Mika, has declined to have his life-support disconnected.

Ertegun had partnered with Murdoch in the deal as the required Turkish co-owner. RTÜK, Türkiye's broadcast regulator, bars foreign investors from holding 25 percent or more of a local television outlet, and Ertegun, believed to have obtained Turkish citizenship, served as the qualifying domestic partner in the transaction.

Because Ertegun's heirs are not Turkish citizens, his death could force Murdoch to find a replacement Turkish partner, even if the handover has already been completed by that point.

RTÜK approved the sale by majority vote just before the accident. Two dissenting board members have challenged the decision in an administrative court, and that appeal remains unresolved.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2006, in its own words.