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Comcast’s NBCUniversal in Talks to Sell One of Its Cable Networks

Jun 9, 2011  •  Post A Comment

Comcast’s NBCUniversal division is in talks to sell one of its cable networks, reports The New York Times, following up a story first reported on the Wall St. Journal’s website.

The cable network in question was founded in 2002, and is targeted to young men in particular. It’s G4, and according to the story it  may be sold to a company that produces mixed martial arts (MMA) matches.

Ultimate Fighting Championship wants to expand its TV footprint and is talks with several potential distributors, the article says. Representatives from the company and NBCUniversal met in New York on Wednesday, although it’s not clear how close a deal is, the Times article says.

The discussions include Ultimate Fighting Championship buying 60% or more of the network, which is one of Comcast’s lowest-rated cable channels, the story says.

That article adds that G4’s "intended audience of men ages 18 to 34 overlaps well with Ultimate Fighting Championship’s audience on Spike, a unit of Viacom, which has carried a fighting reality show for the last six years. Spike’s deal with UFC for the show, “The Ultimate Fighter,” expires in six months. Negotiations between Spike and Ultimate Fighting Championship for a new deal started almost a year ago, one of the people said, but broke down after Ultimate Fighting Championship proposed a dramatic increase in Spike’s annual payment."

Mark Cuban’s HDNet also broadcasts a healthy dose of MMA.

5 Comments

  1. Hope Comcast takes a bath on this one, too. Still mad at them for what they did to my beloved old TechTV.

  2. they are such jerks need to get rid of NBC and all the shows once and for all!! when will they wake up or do they have money to burn??

  3. G4TV should be on its way out because it is in no way synched with NBC female cable properties. With the merger, Style and E! are part of the brand, Bravo and USA skew female and G4 is a waste of time for NBC to invest any more time. Perfect for UFC. Fits their brand perfectly. NBC, the mama network, and their cable properties will be focused on female TV viewers and advertisers looking to reach out to them will have a plethora of content to choose as a vehicle. In addition it’s all about share of ad dollars. And the share of ad dollars versus women 18 to 49 years of age, THE key demo for advertisers, will enable NBC properties to gain a higher share of ad dollars spent up against that demographic.
    This move to sell G4 is a simple strategy to rid a younger male skewing brand that does not fit with their long term plans. What’s that brand? Women.

  4. G4TV should be on its way out because it is in no way synched with NBC female cable properties. With the merger, Style and E! are part of the brand, Bravo and USA skew female and G4 is a waste of time for NBC to invest any more time. Perfect for UFC. Fits their brand perfectly. NBC, the mama network, and their cable properties will be focused on female TV viewers and advertisers looking to reach out to them will have a plethora of content to choose as a vehicle. In addition it’s all about share of ad dollars. And the share of ad dollars versus women 18 to 49 years of age, THE key demo for advertisers, will enable NBC properties to gain a higher share of ad dollars spent up against that demographic.
    This move to sell G4 is a simple strategy to rid a younger male skewing brand that does not fit with their long term plans. What’s that brand? Women.

  5. CBS Corp needs to swoop in and fight aggressively for the cable network. They have almost no cable presence and desperately need an outlet.
    CBS is at such a disadvantage when competing against FOX, Disney and Comcast in this area.

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