Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is in talks with Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to buy a 20 per cent stake in broadcaster Rotana Media, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The newspaper, citing a person involved with the deal, said it's not clear at this stage whether the deal will be for existing stock or new shares.

A formal bid valuing the stake is expected this month, the person told the paper, without giving specifics on price.

News Corp could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters out of regular US business hours.

The WSJ said, Rotana, which hosts Fox channels in Saudi Arabia via its TV network, owns rights to more than 2,000 Arabic movies and a large music library. – Reuters