"CBS is expected to pay about $100 million to buy out the TV Guide Network stake held by One Equity Partners, the private-equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. OEP owns 49% of TV Guide Network, with an option to buy another 1%. A deal could be announced as early as next week, one of the people said."
TV Guide Network (TVGN) as the name suggests has been known as source of listing for channel suffers. Since cables and satellites operators implemented interactive channel listening and programming, TVGN has lost relevance. In order to innovate and keep its position in the market TV Guide Network started offering its own programming. TVGN is not as successful as it used to be, but it is in 80 million U.S. households. TVGN's reach is very appealing to CBS, who also owns Showtime and CBS sports. Lions Gate, who owns 51% of TVGN, hopes to see growth in the network if the deal is confirmed. It would be interesting to see what CBS would bring to the table and what would CBS gain besides market share if this deal is approved.
This article did make me stop and think- whatever happened to the TV Guide Network? I realize that i do not miss it one bit and have been using my cable provider's listing of channels for years now. I enjoy the fact that it provides me with a list of all shows on all channels and does not force feed me any advertisements. I will say that if a consumer is looking for a new show to watch, they might see a preview that catches their eye on TVGN that they would not have seen if they were on their cable provider's channel listing- all facts, no ads...
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