P. Diddy has reportedly bid $200 million for a TV station.
The 43-year-old music mogul is one of several investors who have entered talks to acquire cable channel Fuse, which is currently owned by New York-based Madison Square Garden Company (MSG), and incorporate it into his Revolt TV channel, which is backed by Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), three sources told Bloomberg.
According to one of the sources, if Diddy – whose real name is Sean Combs – purchases Fuse, Revolt TV will gain wider distribution and higher subscriber fees. The channel currently reaches around 22.8 million US homes and is carried by Comcast and Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC), compared with the 74 million audience Fuse currently reaches through pay-TV systems including Cablevision Systems Corporation (CVC) and DirecTV (DTV).
MSG refused to comment on the speculation as talks are still "ongoing".
Their spokesperson, Kimberly Kerns, said: "As we have stated, we are exploring strategic alternatives for Fuse, and will have no further comment during what is still an ongoing process."
As well as Revolt TV, Diddy’s business interests have also included clothing lines and fragrances, restaurants and he recently jointly purchased an upmarket tequila company.
For the latter venture, he again teamed up with Diageo PLC – with who he has a joint marketing and profit-sharing deal for Ciroc vodka – to acquire luxury alcohol brand DeLeon for an undisclosed sum.
Diddy said: "With Ciroc, we dated. Now with DeLeon, we’re married. This deal is way better. This makes me a true owner."
P. Diddy buying TV channel
