Demonstrating that hard feelings have evaporated in the months since Comcast launched an unsolicited bid to acquire The Walt Disney Company, several sources are reporting that Comcast is close
to a deal to purchase E! Entertainment, the basic cable channel partly owned by Disney. The two companies already are in a partnership arrangement with E!, but Comcast wants to own the content company
outright, reports in Broadcasting & Cable and elsewhere say. Since Comcast already manages E! and its sister channel, Style, no significant changes would be contemplated if the deal
goes through. For Comcast, purchasing the portion of E! Entertainment it doesn't already control would strengthen its position as a content provider. Of all the content companies in which
it has a stake, E! is far and away the largest, as it reaches 80 million homes. Spokesmen for Comcast, Disney, and E! would not comment on the discussions. However, Disney Senior Executive Vice
President and CFO Tom Staggs recently told an investor conference that the company is open to restructuring ownership of some of its cable-network partnerships, which also include ESPN, Lifetime, and
A&E. Said Staggs: "The strategic direction for us would be toward rationalization of that ownership so we can leverage those properties better." Comcast, which is looking at
a looming battle with AT&T and others powerful players for access to subscriber's wallets, is in a growth mode, hoping to bulk up on content assets.
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