Lionsgate to acquire TV Guide Network and TVGuide.com
The studio will pay $255 million in a surprise move that derails a previously announced deal.
In a surprise move, Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. agreed Monday to buy TV Guide Network and TVGuide.com for $255 million, torpedoing a deal announced just over two weeks ago with media entrepreneur Allen Shapiro and a private equity unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The purchase from Macrovision Solutions Corp. is expected to significantly expand Lionsgate's cable holdings and reach, giving the Santa Monica studio one of the most widely distributed cable networks in the United States.
The TV Guide Network is available in 83 million homes and has an established brand name, yet previous owners including Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. failed to make it a major player.
Showbiz news is dominated by rival channels such as E Entertainment and syndicated programs such as "Entertainment Tonight" and "Access Hollywood."
Lionsgate Chief Executive Jon Feltheimer has plans to change all that.
"We want to turn this into a billion-dollar asset," said Feltheimer, whose movie and television studio produces the "Saw" and "Tyler Perry" movie franchises and the popular TV series "Mad Men" and "Weeds," among others.
"Within the next couple of years we expect to be a full- service and full-screen entertainment-focused channel," Feltheimer added. "It's a great fit."
He said Lionsgate planned to expand the channel's programming with original shows, behind-the-scenes movie coverage and other offerings, gradually moving it away from the scrolling grid of show listings that is now its most dominant feature.
In the near term, Lionsgate will be able to immediately use the channel to promote its upcoming movies, which include the romantic comedy "New in Town," starring Renee Zellweger and hitting theaters Jan. 30.
Feltheimer said that one of the most appealing elements of TV Guide is the opportunity to tap into a demographic -- women in their early 40s -- that Lionsgate is not serving with its other cable holdings.
These include FEARnet, a video-on-demand and Internet horror channel that it owns with Sony Corp. and Comcast Corp., and the young men's digital distribution platform Break.com (Lionsgate owns 42%).
It is also planning a movie channel, Epix, with partners Viacom Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
TV Guide Network President Ryan O'Hara said he extended his contract to be able to work with Lionsgate to improve the channel.
- Lions Gate sells a 49% stake in TV Guide cable channel and website May 29, 2009
- Lions Gate Purchase Adds to TV Unit Jul 13, 2006
- MTM Entertainment Team Welcomes British Merger Jul 07, 1988
