Discovery Interest in Scripps Driven by Visions of $3 TV Bundle
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Discovery Communications wants to offer web-TV service for the price of a Starbucks latte and sees HGTV’s owner as a key part of it.
Discovery is one of two companies, along with Viacom, vying to buy Scripps Networks Interactive, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The negotiations are at advanced stages and a deal could be announced by the end of the month, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Both see the parent of HGTV and the Food Network as a solid addition to their own channel lineups.
But Discovery has an added reason. With pay TV having to compete with online options like Netflix, the owner of unscripted channels like Animal Planet and TLC wants to bundle the Scripps networks with its own in an online service for as little as $3 to $4 a month, a person familiar with the company’s thinking said. Discovery has already weighed selling a sports-free service with programmers like Viacom and AMC Networks for less than $20 a month, Bloomberg reported in April.
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