NBC Universal has emerged as the likely buyer of The Weather Channel after the withdrawal of Time Warner from the auction of one of America’s most iconic cable brands.
Landmark Communications, which owns Weather Channel and a number of US newspaper titles, has confirmed that it has now entered into exclusive negotiations with the NBC Universal consortium and its private equity partners.
After initial interest and bids of up to $3.5 billion, early bidders that had also included CBS and Liberty Media, withdrew from the auction process.
The Weather Channel would have made a partner for the Time Warner-owned CNN, but NBC also has a potential tie-up on the cards, having launched its own Weather Plus network in 2004.
Landmark is privately held by the Batten Family. It once also owned The Travel Channel and briefing took The Weather Channel into Europe in the mid 1990s.
