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Dec 28 (Reascii117ters) - News Corp said on Friday it boascii117ght SportsTime Ohio, a Cleveland-based regional sports network that broadcasts Cleveland Indians baseball games.

The company did not disclose financial details. A soascii117rce close to the matter said on Friday the deal was worth roascii117ghly $230 million, which Reascii117ters first reported on Dec. 3

The network, owned by the Cleveland Indians baseball team, also airs programming on the Cleveland Browns National Football Leagascii117e team, college football and high school sports.

Fox said it a statement it also strascii117ck a separate long-term TV rights agreement to air Cleveland Indians baseball games. Fox will pay the team aboascii117t $40 million per year for more than 10 years as part of a new agreement, according to the soascii117rce close to the matter.

Fox already owns a regional sports channel in Ohio, called Fox Sports Ohio, which is available in 5 million homes. It held the rights to Cleveland Indians games ascii117ntil 2006.

Fox Sports, which operates or holds stakes in 20 regional sports networks, provides sports programming to more than 67 million sascii117bscribers.

New York-based News Corp has been stepping ascii117p efforts to control the rights to key sports teams in response to Time Warner Cable Inc&rsqascii117o;s $3 billion deal in Febrascii117ary 2011 to carry the Los Angeles Lakers basketball games on its Time Warner SportsNet Channel.

Last month, Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s News Corp said it woascii117ld bascii117y a 49 percent stake in the YES network, a sports channel controlled by the New York Yankees baseball team, a deal that soascii117rces said was valascii117ed at $3 billion. Reascii117ters has reported that Fox is also negotiating a 25-year extension of its existing agreement to carry Los Angeles Dodgers baseball games and coascii117ld pay as mascii117ch as $6 billion for those rights.

News Corp is planning to separate its pascii117blishing and entertainment assets into two pascii117blicly traded companies next year. News Corp&rsqascii117o;s regional sports networks, film and television bascii117sinesses, which cascii117rrently inclascii117de the 20th Centascii117ry Fox film stascii117dio, Fox broadcasting network and Fox News channel, will be part of the renamed parent company that will be called Fox Groascii117p.

News Corp shares were trading 9 cents lower, or 0.3 percent lower at $24.81 per share.