CBS To Buy College Sports Network (CSTV)

(From The Associated Press)

CBS, which is about to split away from the VIACOM INC. media conglomerate, has already made its first acquisition deal, agreeing to pay $325 million for a two-year-old college sports network called CSTV NETWORKS INC.

CBS plans to pay for the company, which was founded by sports programming entrepreneur BRIAN BEDOL, with stock in
CBS CORPORATION, one of the two companies to be created by the end of the year when VIACOM splits itself up.

Bedol was also a co-founder of THE CLASSIC SPORTS NETWORK, a cable channel that became popular with non-game sports programming such as documentaries and nostalgia shows. That channel was sold in 1997 to WALT DISNEY COMPANY's ESPN and is now known as ESPN CLASSIC.

Under the deal announced Wednesday, Bedol will continue to operate CSTV and report to LESLIE MOONVES, who will run CBS following its breakup from VIACOM.

CSTV was founded in 2003 and currently has 15 million subscribers, offering a variety of sports such as tennis to lacrosse that might not otherwise get big programming deals such as top-tier men's basketball and football.

The deal also includes a network of more than 250 official college sports Web sites that are operated for their respective schools by CSTV, as well as CSTV's own Web site, www.CSTV.com.

VIACOM has said it expects its breakup plan to be complete by the end of the year, pending regulatory approvals.

Assuming it does, the newly created CBS CORPORATION will own the TV network, a major radio broadcaster, a group of TV stations and other properties.

The new VIACOM INC. will own MTV and a stable of other cable networks as well as the PARAMOUNT movie studio.

Tom Blais, thanks for the post.