Cablevision is emerging as the most likely candidate in the bid to buy the Sundance Channel, the New York Post reports. Inside sources told the paper that Cablevision had the high bid in the opening negotiations that began two weeks ago, but the cable giant still faces stiff competition from Time Warner and Viacom. Sundance and its advising investment bank, UBS, are expected to make a decision this weekend, with a projected final purchase price around $500 million.
Cablevision Leads Bidding for Sundance
Apr 25, 2008 • Post A Comment
Let me get this straight.
Viacom split into two different companies, CBS (which is “old” Viacom only focused on broadcast television, premium cable, radio, and other miscellanious interests) and Viacom (which is a new network dedicated to motion pictures, basic cable networks, and new media).
In the past week, Viacom announced plans to launch a new premium network with MGM and Lion’s Gate and says that films from Paramount, MGM, and Lion’s Gate will be exclusively seen on the new network within two years of the network’s launch. Ironically, this means that Showtime, owned by CBS, will no longer be the premium home to those three studios, leaving them . . . movieless.
Now, it seems, that Viacom is one of the leading contenders to buy Sundance Channel, which is owned by the Sundance Institute, NBC Universal, and . . . Showtime.
Wow, Viacom doesn’t like the network it once proudly owned. And yet, the owners of Viacom also owns CBS, Showtime’s parent company.
Why did they split again?