News Corp Buys Stake in Roku

News Corp.

, the diversified global media company, is buying a stake in internet video streaming set-top box maker Roku. The

reported that this investment in Roku is part of a fifth round of funding of $45 million, and it brings the total amount of funding generated since the company was founded in 2002 to $77 million. "For us this is a lot of money," said Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood in an interview. "There would be no financial reason for us to go public any time soon." Roku has sold over 3 million set-top devices this year and it had $100 million in revenue last year, leading News Corp's chief digital officer and new Roku board member Jon Miller to say, "We have watched Roku maintain market leadership since the launch of its streaming platform four years ago and we look forward to deepening our relationship." The news comes two days after

that News Corp. had promoted Peter Rice as Chairman and CEO of the Fox Networks Group before splitting into two separate companies in 2013.

in June that News Corp was planning to separate its publishing arm from its entertainment division. In preparation, the company is making a few decisive changes. Fox Sports CEO David Hill will take the bigger role of Senior Executive Vice President. According to Reuters, Rice's job will now have him overseeing sports, Fox broadcasting and the company's international and cable networks. The company will be desperate to divert attention towards the forthcoming split and away from the ongoing phone hacking court case which has tainted News Corp's name for over a year, as former News of the World editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson will be charged for allegedly hacking into the phone of murder victim Milly Dowler. By allegedly hacking into Dowler's phone, the two former News Corp employees effectively interfered with the investigation because after discovering that her phone account had been accessed, the police and Dowler's parents believed her to be alive. On Thursday, News Corp. traded at about $22.70, up roughly 1.8 percent.