• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 19, 2008

Macrovision will unload the TV Guide Network to a private-equity firm and the former head of Dick Clark Productions for $255 million. The deal with One Equity Partners and Allen Shapiro could climb by perhaps $45 million with other provisions.

The acquisition includes tvguide.com and is expected to close in the spring. The TV Guide Network--known for its listings information and more recently, the red-carpet coverage of major Hollywood events, is in 83 million homes.

Shapiro said that the network and Web site are "brands [that] are extremely difficult to replicate, and create significant opportunities for sustained growth."

Greg O'Hara, a managing director of One Equity Partners, said: "With Allen's expertise and impressive track record with media investments, we believe this acquisition will serve as a platform for other acquisitions across the entertainment and digital landscape."

Macrovision said it would retain functionality employed by tvguide.com that allows it to syndicate TV listings to other publishers. The company operates interactive program guides (IPGs) that in some sense have made the TV Guide Network as a listings mechanism less viable.

At Dick Clark Productions, Shapiro is credited with serving as an executive producer of Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance," "The Golden Globes" and Clark's eponymous New Year's special.