Travel Channel to find new home
The network for wanderers seems to be doing a bit of that itself these days. Cox Communications, which owns the Travel Channel, is shopping it around, with several companies expressing interest. So, will it wind up with Scripps Networks, which has the Food Network and HGTV? Or, could it wind up part of Rupert Murdoch's empire over at News Corp?
So far, Scripps seems to be in the lead, with Rupert's folks not crazy about the climbing price of the channel. The latest bids, word is, are north of $1 billion. Back in June, when Cox first put it on the block, industry watchers figured it would fetch between $600 million and $700 million. Last week, the $900 million mark was pierced and has since been left in the rearview mirror.
The Travel Channel hasn't landed yet, and it could take a while for the dust to settle. We'll keep watching ... the action, that is.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
M-D Nov 4th 2009 10:42PM
The odd thing is that even though they were sold to Cox in 2008, Travel Channel still shares some production commonalities Discovery Communications' networks, including the format of the end credit roll. Hell, the Travel Channel logo still includes a spinning globe, which is the 'mark' of the Discovery networks.
TC belongs at Scripps, although I worry that some shows, like Man Vs. Food, will get poached for Food Network or cancelled outright for being too similar to existing Scripps properties.