News Corp. wants to acquire full ownership of Speedvision to capitalize on its investments in broadcasting Nascar racing, but it hasn't decided whether Outdoor Life fits within its portfolio, the report said.
Outdoor Life features fishing, kayaking and similar pursuits. Car racing and other shows for car buffs constitute most of Speedvision's programming, the report noted.
News Corp, now owns about one-third of the two networks through its Fox Cable Networks Group LLC, the paper said.
Cox Communications Inc, Comcast Corp. and AT&T Corp. have stakes in the networks, the paper said.
Certain potential sellers, including Cox, believe the networks are worth more than $1.5 billion, the paper said. News Corp. believes the combined value of the two channels is closer to $1 billion, and Comcast doesn't necessarily want to sell, the report said.
Under the terms of News Corp.'s agreements with shareholders other than Comcast, the transactions must close by July, pending routine regulatory approval, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
News Corp. is in talks with a group of cable operators and other investors to potentially buy out their stakes in cable TV channels Outdoor Life Network LLC and Speedvision Network LLC the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Monday.
