 As part of the financing for the deal, Liberty Media, the then-parent company of Starz agreed to take a $500-million option of stock in News Corporation that would be exercised upon the closing of the deal.Liberty, the second-largest shareholder in News Corp. after the Murdoch family with 18%, had originally planned to bid for DirecTV, but opted not to upon the agreement.The FCC voted 3–2 along party lines on December 19, 2003 to approve the deal subject to conditions, forcing News Corp. to agree to arbitration for all disputes with carriers of its media broadcasters, and to provide content through DirecTV neutrally rather than favoring its own networks.