LONDON (Brand Republic) – News Corporation is considering selling Fox Family Worldwide, which would raise a much needed $3bn, as it prepares to bid for direct-to-home satellite TV service DirecTV.
Rival US media giants Viacom and Disney are both said to be interested in acquiring the Fox Family Network, which is the home to the Fox Kids Channel, Power Rangers, Digimon and the X-Men.
News Corporation is said to be considering a number of strategic options for the network ahead of a possible $1.5bn bill from Fox Family joint owner Haim Saban. Children’s programming mogul Saban is using a clause in his contract that requires News Corp to buy his 49.5% stake in Fox Family.
The move comes at a difficult time for cash-strapped News Corp. The Hughes-owned DirecTV business -- the biggest satellite pay-TV provider in the US with 9.5m customers -- comes with a price tag of around $40bn and News Corp has recently received a warning from Standard & Poor that its credit rating may be downgraded.
Other options being considered by News Corp include bringing in a partner to replace Saban or an outright sale of the business.
Fox Family Worldwide was established as a joint venture between Saban Entertainment and News Corp in 1996.