Media mogul Rupert Murdoch today cleared the final hurdles to fulfilling his long-sought dream of acquiring the DirecTV satellite service, a coveted pipeline into millions of American television sets

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and antitrust enforcers approved the $US6.6 billion ($A9.16 billion) plan by Murdoch's News Corp, owner of movie studios and the Fox broadcast network, to gain control of the No.1 US satellite television provider, with its 12 million subscribers. The FCC voted 3-2 to approve the deal, with conditions aimed at ensuring the television titan does not bludgeon cable and satellite rivals who also want to offer their customers News Corp's popular network and cable programming. "Cable and satellite customers will continue to have access to programming from a diverse source of media outlets," FCC chairman Michael Powell said. "With these conditions, I believe the transaction serves the public interest." Powell was joined by Republican Commissioners Kathleen Abernathy and Kevin Martin in voting for the deal.