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Media Moguls' 'Marriage' On the Rocks

Longtime partners Diller, Malone may be severing ties

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 27, 2007 12:38 PM CDT

(Newser) – The long and lucrative partnership between media giants John Malone and Barry Diller may be nearing its end, the Wall Street Journal reports. "We've been frustrated with each other at times," says Diller, whose IAC empire, backed by Malone's Liberty Media, includes the Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster and Expedia. Lackluster business is raising tensions between the two and threatening their complex ties.

Malone owns a majority voting stake in Diller's companies, but a proxy agreement, valid until death, allows Diller to vote on Malone's behalf. Now, with business slumping, Malone is asserting his influence and Diller is chafing for independence. Malone, who likens the partnership to a "marriage," may be willing to wait it out. He once reminded investors that "if a bus gets" Diller, Liberty Media takes control of IAC.

John Malone, head of Liberty Media, may be severing ties with longtime partner Barry Diller. (Getty Images)

Media gian Barry Diller, seen here in this 2005 file photo, is on increasingly rocky terms with business parner John Malone. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, file) (Associated Press)

ICA chief Barry Diller and business partner John Malone may be going their separate ways in the not-too-distant-future. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, file) (Associated Press)

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Media Moguls' 'Marriage' On the Rocks

Longtime partners Diller, Malone may be severing ties

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