The price would be small change but the regulatory hurdles would be too high. Ideally itv could buy it and use the content for itv2 and 4 and perhaps give itv2 the five slot.
Are you saying Big brother would then move to itv2 georges?
I doubt it will happen, the regulators wont allow a company like Itv to buy Channel5. Their position in the advertising market would be far too dominant and not fair to other companies.
I don't think buying Five is top of itv's to do list. It's not that attractive. Produces zero original content, so would be a step backwards strategy wise.
I don't think buying Five is top of itv's to do list. It's not that attractive. Produces zero original content, so would be a step backwards strategy wise.
Indeed for large parts of the day the schedule is imported and they produce no original drama, comedy or LE.
I hope Channel 5 isn't for sale. The more channels the better. Channel 5 also has its own 'personality' where content is concerned. Good to know that Five isn't for sale.
well this was unexpected, for some reason I had thought Richard Desmond was commit to Channel 5, still I guess this is what happens in big business.
A sale to ITV, im not sure what ITV would get to make it worth their while, TBH Channel 5 seems destined to be part of a company's empire, heck I could even see it being owned by The Hearst Corporation (who owns this website)
It does seem that with all the best will in the world, along with ambitious plans, can not make a 5th terrestrial channel viable.
Beyond buying it as a vanity project, im not sure what Channel 5 really has to offer, and Desmond may get less than he paid for it.
I cant see ITV being allowed to buy Channel 5 for the reasons already mentioned. However Richard Desmond's denial probably means we will hear of a sale within the next 12 months
I cant see ITV being allowed to buy Channel 5 for the reasons already mentioned. However Richard Desmond's denial probably means we will hear of a sale within the next 12 months
to be honest that there is even rumour of a C5 sale, is damming by itself.
5 years after Desmond bought Channel 5, it maybe in new hands, being reorganised again, that question, is will they be better hands?
I don't think buying Five is top of itv's to do list. It's not that attractive. Produces zero original content, so would be a step backwards strategy wise.
The article says they produce 600 hours of original kids content.
ITV would get far too big a market share. That would give them 8 unique 24hr FTA channels, 21 channels on Pay tv in total on , the other commercials wouldn't be happy.
The article says they produce 600 hours of original kids content.
and that is maybe Channel 5s most notable achievement.
However its worth noting that alot of those shows are not C5 creations, and the likes of Thomas, and Fireman Sam, will find homes elsewhere, as they have before they aired on Channel 5.
Is it worth buying Channel 5 to air a Milkshake channel?
Meanwhile another strong suit, is US rights, whilst CSI is winding down, most likely only the original will be on air next season,
Is Channel 5 worth buying as a channel to air US shows?
In terms of the US drama, a tie up with CBS/Chellomedia (Liberty Global) seems an option, they can easily reband Five USA, as CBS something, and continue to air US crime drama.
Do they want a children's channel? well they own JimJam with HIT Entertainment, so maybe.
Certainly if CBS/ Chellomedia wanted to make an expansion in the UK, I think that it could be alot worse than Channel 5, which could very easily sit along aside its current channel.
I'm not sure that LibertyGlobal/CBS is currently in the market for new channels but agree there are synergies with Milkshake/Jim Jam and CSI/5USA.
The company that has been hitting the acquistion trail of late has been Discovery which has been focusing on Western Europe. Last year, it acquired Scaninavian tv and radio business SBS Nordic for $1.7bn and a 20% stake in Eurosport for $170m. Its CEO & President, David Zaslav, was quoted by The Telegraph and FT as declaring Western Europe to be the new emerging market and it was investing there before the eventual upturn.
The company's efforts at the moment then are to grow its non-US revenue hence the above acquistions and to attract more female viewers, through the launch of TLC and the Oprah Winfrey Network joint venture.
Channel 5 would seem to tick both of Discovery's boxes but I suspect Richard Desmond would be more likely to wait for the upturn before selling the channel. Unlike private equity-owned SBS Nordic and Eurosport's parent company TF1, I don't believe he's under any pressure to sell now.
Charnham might be on to something with the US network thing. CBS or NBC seem the most likely to bid. ABC might, but they got their fingers burnt with ABC1, which never took off. Fox probably wouldn't get involved due to conflicts with Sky.
But all this is still a big 'if'. We don't know if it is for sale.
I cant see ITV being allowed to buy Channel 5 for the reasons already mentioned. However Richard Desmond's denial probably means we will hear of a sale within the next 12 months
No, neither can I. ITV and 5 is a competitive no-no unless 5 were deemed totally valueless, which it isn't.
Interestingly, some Irish media have been talking about a UTV / TV3 merger, the mechanism being the purchase at a massive discount of TV3's debt from Bank of Ireland's liquidator. You know how,the press often confuses rum ours, so I wonder if the concept of ITV mopping-up a significant other commercial broadcaster is actually the UTV/TV3 thing. If its true, then you bet ITV are involved?
Charnham might be on to something with the US network thing. CBS or NBC seem the most likely to bid. ABC might, but they got their fingers burnt with ABC1, which never took off. Fox probably wouldn't get involved due to conflicts with Sky.
But all this is still a big 'if'. We don't know if it is for sale.
CBS has a deal with Chello Media. NBC has corporate connections with Universal, Syfy, MSNBC and a few others. ABC has corporate connections with Disney Channel, Disney XD. Fox has Fox, National Geographic and a few others...
That said Viacom, TimeWarner or possibly even Sky could be an option...
Is it worth buying Channel 5 to air a Milkshake channel?
Certainly if CBS/ Chellomedia .
Milk.shake, no. But carriage on a PSB mux and epg positions 5/105, yes, yes, yes.
Its probably, futile of the current owners to think that ITV wold come into a bidding war and force the price up. CBS may be good investors, but not at a silly price.
In 2010, the Guardian said that Northern & Shell was the frontrunner to acquire Channel 5 ahead of Channel 4 and a US firm, likely to be Time Warner or NBC. NBC has since been acquired by Comcast so may have a different strategy in place now.
BT anyone? Probably not, I can't see the City being impressed with such a move! http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/19/richard-desmond-channel-five
In 2010, the Guardian said that Northern & Shell was the frontrunner to acquire Channel 5 ahead of Channel 4 and a US firm, likely to be Time Warner or NBC. NBC has since been acquired by Comcast so may have a different strategy in place now.
BT anyone? Probably not, I can't see the City being impressed with such a move! http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/19/richard-desmond-channel-five
Would be interesting if BT did bid for CH5 but some how I cant see that happening.
So we can look forward to ITV 2 taking the number 5 slot and new channels called ITV 5 and ITV 6?
Great! :rolleyes:
im not really sure what ITV gains from buying Channel 5, it doesn't really need the EPG slots, and unless ITV wants to launch a channel dedicated to US drama, most of Channel 5s drama, could find a home of the current ITV multichannel's.
The company that has been hitting the acquistion trail of late has been Discovery which has been focusing on Western Europe.
The company's efforts at the moment then are to grow its non-US revenue hence the above acquistions and to attract more female viewers, through the launch of TLC and the Oprah Winfrey Network joint venture.
Channel 5 would seem to tick both of Discovery's boxes but I suspect Richard Desmond would be more likely to wait for the upturn before selling the channel. Unlike private equity-owned SBS Nordic and Eurosport's parent company TF1, I don't believe he's under any pressure to sell now.
Charnham might be on to something with the US network thing. CBS or NBC seem the most likely to bid. ABC might, but they got their fingers burnt with ABC1, which never took off. Fox probably wouldn't get involved due to conflicts with Sky.
But all this is still a big 'if'. We don't know if it is for sale.
I agree that FOX and ABC are unlikely bidders. NBC/Universal does have channels over here, to me the CBS/LibertyGlobal & Discovering have the weakest offerings.
Would be interesting if BT did bid for CH5 but some how I cant see that happening.
Darren
TBH I dont see BT getting involved in free to air TV, they seem to be focused on sport right now, to buy Channel 5 would be a distraction to their current plan.
Five years on from when Desmond acquired Channel 5 would be July 2015, which looks a more likely sale date than now.
theses sales take time, so it may not even be till 2016, and im certainly not suggesting, Richard sell it in time for the 5th anniversary. I do however think that its going to look like a failure if Richard sells it, only 5 years after he bought it.
I am surprised that there are rumours of Desmond selling at this point in time, selling to ITV looks like an attractive out, but the reality is that such a deal is a non starter, and the sale will have to be with an outside group.
Discovery looks like a good option, another one being Scripps Networks, but I suspect now they own half of UKTV, they wont feel the need to buy Channel 5.
To sum up:
For a media group, looking to expand or enter the UK market, Channel 5 could be an attractive buy, but im surprised its up on the market so soon, and its of little value of ITV
D.M.N.
Posts: 34,172
Comments
I doubt it will happen, the regulators wont allow a company like Itv to buy Channel5. Their position in the advertising market would be far too dominant and not fair to other companies.
Indeed for large parts of the day the schedule is imported and they produce no original drama, comedy or LE.
A sale to ITV, im not sure what ITV would get to make it worth their while, TBH Channel 5 seems destined to be part of a company's empire, heck I could even see it being owned by The Hearst Corporation (who owns this website)
It does seem that with all the best will in the world, along with ambitious plans, can not make a 5th terrestrial channel viable.
Beyond buying it as a vanity project, im not sure what Channel 5 really has to offer, and Desmond may get less than he paid for it.
5 years after Desmond bought Channel 5, it maybe in new hands, being reorganised again, that question, is will they be better hands?
The article says they produce 600 hours of original kids content.
ITV would get far too big a market share. That would give them 8 unique 24hr FTA channels, 21 channels on Pay tv in total on , the other commercials wouldn't be happy.
That is true.
I just don't see a viable long term business model for five unfortunately.
However its worth noting that alot of those shows are not C5 creations, and the likes of Thomas, and Fireman Sam, will find homes elsewhere, as they have before they aired on Channel 5.
Is it worth buying Channel 5 to air a Milkshake channel?
Meanwhile another strong suit, is US rights, whilst CSI is winding down, most likely only the original will be on air next season,
Is Channel 5 worth buying as a channel to air US shows?
In terms of the US drama, a tie up with CBS/Chellomedia (Liberty Global) seems an option, they can easily reband Five USA, as CBS something, and continue to air US crime drama.
Do they want a children's channel? well they own JimJam with HIT Entertainment, so maybe.
Certainly if CBS/ Chellomedia wanted to make an expansion in the UK, I think that it could be alot worse than Channel 5, which could very easily sit along aside its current channel.
Great! :rolleyes:
The company that has been hitting the acquistion trail of late has been Discovery which has been focusing on Western Europe. Last year, it acquired Scaninavian tv and radio business SBS Nordic for $1.7bn and a 20% stake in Eurosport for $170m. Its CEO & President, David Zaslav, was quoted by The Telegraph and FT as declaring Western Europe to be the new emerging market and it was investing there before the eventual upturn.
The company's efforts at the moment then are to grow its non-US revenue hence the above acquistions and to attract more female viewers, through the launch of TLC and the Oprah Winfrey Network joint venture.
Channel 5 would seem to tick both of Discovery's boxes but I suspect Richard Desmond would be more likely to wait for the upturn before selling the channel. Unlike private equity-owned SBS Nordic and Eurosport's parent company TF1, I don't believe he's under any pressure to sell now.
But all this is still a big 'if'. We don't know if it is for sale.
No, neither can I. ITV and 5 is a competitive no-no unless 5 were deemed totally valueless, which it isn't.
Interestingly, some Irish media have been talking about a UTV / TV3 merger, the mechanism being the purchase at a massive discount of TV3's debt from Bank of Ireland's liquidator. You know how,the press often confuses rum ours, so I wonder if the concept of ITV mopping-up a significant other commercial broadcaster is actually the UTV/TV3 thing. If its true, then you bet ITV are involved?
CBS has a deal with Chello Media. NBC has corporate connections with Universal, Syfy, MSNBC and a few others. ABC has corporate connections with Disney Channel, Disney XD. Fox has Fox, National Geographic and a few others...
That said Viacom, TimeWarner or possibly even Sky could be an option...
Milk.shake, no. But carriage on a PSB mux and epg positions 5/105, yes, yes, yes.
Its probably, futile of the current owners to think that ITV wold come into a bidding war and force the price up. CBS may be good investors, but not at a silly price.
BT anyone? Probably not, I can't see the City being impressed with such a move!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/19/richard-desmond-channel-five
Would be interesting if BT did bid for CH5 but some how I cant see that happening.
Darren
It would rather depend on the price? So, why are Northern and Shell trying to make a market. (If they are)
I do agree with you, unless CBS/LibertyGlobal are looking to rise the profile of their channels in the UK, the suggested deal, wont happen.
that is another interesting option.
I agree that FOX and ABC are unlikely bidders. NBC/Universal does have channels over here, to me the CBS/LibertyGlobal & Discovering have the weakest offerings.
TBH I dont see BT getting involved in free to air TV, they seem to be focused on sport right now, to buy Channel 5 would be a distraction to their current plan.
theses sales take time, so it may not even be till 2016, and im certainly not suggesting, Richard sell it in time for the 5th anniversary. I do however think that its going to look like a failure if Richard sells it, only 5 years after he bought it.
I am surprised that there are rumours of Desmond selling at this point in time, selling to ITV looks like an attractive out, but the reality is that such a deal is a non starter, and the sale will have to be with an outside group.
Discovery looks like a good option, another one being Scripps Networks, but I suspect now they own half of UKTV, they wont feel the need to buy Channel 5.
To sum up:
For a media group, looking to expand or enter the UK market, Channel 5 could be an attractive buy, but im surprised its up on the market so soon, and its of little value of ITV