Comcast buys TechTV
Comcast, whose goal of purchasing Disney has turned into a long-term struggle, is not sitting idle. This week it announced that it would acquire cable network TechTV for about $300 million. That channel is currently owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Apparently Sony was also interested in the channel.
Comcast reportedly plans to merge TechTV into its own G4 channel. G4, introduced in 2002, is dedicated to electronic games. TechTV has 21 original shows ranging from "Robot Wars" to "Nerd Nation" to 'CyberCrime". The thought is that the revamped G4 will select some of the most popular of the TechTV shows.
The big buy for Comcast is eyeballs. The Wall Street Journal (5/26/2004) reports that G4 now reaches only 15 million homes, while the new, combined channel will reach some 44 million homes. That's a remarkable expansion, and gives Comcast a place on the shelves of cable TV rivals all at one swoop, instead of through painstaking negotiation with its rivals.
Comcast clearly sees limits to its growth as cable system. The biggest opportunities are in controlling content on cable, and TechTV is small step to that goal. In the end, Comcast wants to be Viacom's and Fox's biggest competitor.
6:56:37 PM 
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