PARIS — What is Rupert Murdoch up to? That question comes up anytime the chief executive of News Corp. makes an acquisition, no matter how small. So last week, as the company proposed its biggest deal yet, the possibilities, for Murdoch-watchers, were particularly intriguing.

News Corp. already owns 39 percent of Mr. Murdoch’s latest target, British Sky Broadcasting, but last week he offered $11.5 billion for the rest of it. What could News Corp. do with full ownership of a company it already effectively controls, and whose chairman is already a Murdoch? (Rupert’s son James, that is.)

BSkyB is one of the few media companies to blend successfully the ownership of must-have content, like English Premier League soccer, with an expertise in delivering it to people’s living rooms in a way that does not leave them cursing the “cable guy.”

That combination opens up some interesting possibilities. Analysts are wondering, for instance, whether Sky’s direct relationship with customers could be used as a way to market other News Corp. products and services.

Mr. Murdoch is already pushing News Corp. to generate more revenue from consumers, rather than advertising, which took a big hit during the recession. A News Corp. newspaper, The Times of London, is set to start charging visitors to its Web site for access, and other papers owned by the company are expected to follow.

Getting consumers to pay for news online is going to be difficult. Might it be easier if access to the Web site were bundled into a satellite television subscription? Sky already provides some of its customers with other services, like broadband hookups.

“You cannot help but thinking there must be ways of linking the two businesses and helping them out,” said Toby Syfret, who studies the television business at Enders Analysis in London. “In theory the commercial opportunity is quite an interesting one.”

Efforts to cross-sell different kinds of content by controlling the pipes into people’s homes have not always gone well. Remember AOL Time Warner? Or Vivendi Universal, circa 2001? Those failed experiments turned “synergy” into a dirty word in the media industry.

News Corp., too, has sometimes been wary about blending content ownership and distribution; a little more than three years ago, it sold control of its U.S. satellite television operation, DirecTV, to Liberty Media.

During a conference call with analysts, Chase Carey, News Corp.’s chief operating officer, declined to be drawn out about any specific plans to harness BSkyB to News Corp.’s other businesses, though he did say: “I do think we think these businesses fit together. I think we do believe there are opportunities to manage these mixed businesses.”

Analysts say there might also be opportunities for News Corp. in the growing European presence of its satellite TV operations saving account payday loan. Assuming a deal for BSkyB is completed, News Corp. will own 100 percent of the biggest pay-TV companies in Britain and Italy, as well as effectively controlling the biggest one in Germany. In December, News Corp. raised its stake in the German business, Sky Deutschland, to 45 percent from 40 percent.

The European television industry is highly fragmented, and local channels dominate viewing. That limits the possibilities for cost savings by BSkyB, Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland. Still, analysts said the companies could benefit from joint testing of new technology like set-top boxes. News Corp. might also gain leverage in negotiations with Hollywood studios, which provide movies and niche channels for pay-TV systems across Europe.

“We think the combined scale of the businesses provides opportunities as we grow and develop,” Mr. Carey said.

News Corp. and BSkyB would also be able to present a united front in their long-running battles with the British Broadcasting Corp.

James Murdoch last year, in a speech, accused the BBC of a “land grab,” complaining that its public funding gave it an unfair advantage over private companies in the race to develop new, digital businesses.

The new British prime minister, David Cameron, who was supported by The Times and another News Corp. paper, The Sun, in the recent election campaign, has pledged to loosen up the regulation of commercial media companies. Mr. Cameron’s Conservative Party, which governs in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, has also in the past been more skeptical about BBC financing than the Labour Party, which governed for the past 13 years.

“It’s a reweighting of the scales away from the public-service media and in favor of the commercial media,” said Alex DeGroote, an analyst at the brokerage firm Panmure Gordon in London.

First BSkyB and News Corp. would have to come to an agreement on price. BSkyB rejected the initial offer as too low, but analysts and investors expect the companies to reach agreement eventually.

BSkyB said it would be willing to accept a slightly higher bid, and the two companies said they were already working together on potential regulatory issues.

News Corp.’s official explanation for its approach is that the acquisition would give the company greater geographical diversification and reduce its reliance on volatile advertising revenues.

Analysts say BSkyB is indeed poised to contribute significant profit growth in the coming years, given that heavy investments in new technologies like high-definition broadcasting are largely behind it.

“We think this transaction is a smart move for News Corp. and one that we believe will ensure a healthy future for BSkyB,” Mr. Carey said.

What’s Murdoch’s Aim With Latest Deal?