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Current DateTime: 11:19:12 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 31765984
Expiration DateTime: 11/12/2009 11:21:04 AM
    • News Corp. vs Google  10 Nov 2009

        CNBC's Julia Boorstin has the details on Rupert Murdoch's new search engine, with Rich Harlgaard, Forbes publisher.

    • Murdoch's Content Conundrum  10 Nov 2009

        Fox's Rupert Murdoch is vowing to protect his online content at all costs, with CNBC's Julia Boorstin and Jim VandeHei, Politico executive editor.

    • Murdoch Snubs Google  10 Nov 2009

        Rupert Murdoch is threatening to yank his content from Google, calling the engine a "content kleptomaniac" and a "parasite" for stealing content from his company's newspapers. Quentin Hardy, of Forbes, and CNBC's Julia Boorstin discuss.

    • "Call of Duty" Debuts With a Bang  10 Nov 2009

        The debut of video game "Call of Duty" could be the biggest debut of any entertainment product ever, reports CNBC's Julia Boorstin. Edward Williams, leisure analyst at BMO Capital Markets, shares his insight.

    • Money-Making Gaming  09 Nov 2009

        The most highly anticipated video game of the year will be released at midnight, with CNBC's Julia Boorstin; Tony Gikas, Piper Jaffray video game analyst; and Lewis Ward, IDC Research Manager.

    • Video Game Assault on Movies  09 Nov 2009

        Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard's latest video game, is already breaking pre-sale records. Matthew Jacob, of Majestic, and CNBC's Julia Boorstin discuss.

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Current DateTime: 11:19:12 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 31625651

Media Money

Text Size
Jun.02
3:49 PM ET
Monday, 2 Jun 2008
Weather Channel Bidding: Sunny With High Chance of Acquisition

Weather Channel Logo
Bids for the channel were due Friday night, with a number of the media giants reportedly jumping in, and we could have news of a winner as soon as next week.

And despite reports that a consortium of NBC Universal, Blackstone Group and Bain Capital are in the lead, sources close to the bidding say that talk of a frontrunner is premature.

The cable network that reaches 96 million U.S. homes could end up in the hands of any combination of the aforementioned, or Time Warner [TWX  Loading...      ()   ]  . CBS [CBS  Loading...      ()   ] was also considered a potential buyer, until CBS bought CNET.

Though the Weather Channel's owner, Landmark Communications, was originally looking for $5 billion for the asset, which includes mobile and online, now the bids are coming in at some $3.5 billion in stock and debt. Bankers telling me that the number has come down with the turmoil in the credit markets.

So what's Weather Channel worth? For one thing, it's one of the last remaining independent cable assets at a time where cable channels are the strongest drivers of media giants' growth. The other factor making the Weather Channel appealing is its position as a strong "vertical" brand--media-speak for a go-to destination that transcends the TV format to also draw users on the web or on your mobile phone.

Soleil analyst Laura Martin tells me that while the value of cable assets are down in this environment, the value of digital and mobile assets are on the rise, and that weather.com provides a great web platform for any of the buyers. Martin says that weather.com is second only to MapQuest in terms of its mobile and web potential.

We'll be watching for more news on the bidding. In this environment it'll be interesting to see who pays what.

Questions?  Comments? 

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