Jennifer Lopez-backed NUVOtv, an English-language channel aimed at the Latino audience, confirmed on Friday that it signed a $226 million deal to acquire Madison Square Garden’s (MSG) Fuse cable-TV network, beating rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs in the bidding war for the channel.
“Music is my first love so the acquisition of Fuse is near and dear to my heart”, said Lopez, who serves as chief creative officer for NuvoTV.
The pop star and entrepreneur, known as J-Lo by fans, continued “It’s exciting that between NUVOtv and Fuse we’ll have the ability to deliver a broad array of terrific content both from a Latino perspective and across multiple genres, including music, to a broader audience.”
Fuse reaches about 73 million households, compared to about 30 million for Los Angeles-based NuvoTV, and is available on DirecTV (DTV), Cablevision (CVC), Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (TWC). Lopez outbid hip-hop mogul and ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs, who reportedly offered $200 million for the struggling network.
Lopez’s deal calls for MSG to receive cash plus 15% of the equity in the enlarged SiTV Media parent company of NuvoTV, reports Variety. MSG will have a seat on the board of directors of the privately held SiTV Media.
The deal “enhances our distribution relationships, dramatically expands our aggregate subscriber base….and should be extremely appealing to the advertising community,” Michael Schwimmer, chief executive officer of NuvoTV, said in a statement.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close between July 1 and September 30.
Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase after clicking a link, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Leave a Reply