CBS Joins Bidding for Dick Clark Productions

Reuters reports that the broadcaster is interested in the company behind the Golden Globe Awards telecast

Add CBS to the list of suitors for Dick Clark Productions.

The broadcaster is weighing a bid for the company behind the Golden Globe Awards telecast and "So You Think You Can Dance," Reuters reports.

As TheWrap reported exclusively in June, a sale price for DCP is expected to be between $350 million and $400 million.

A spokesman for  DCP declined to comment on "market rumors," and a spokesman for CBS did not respond to a request for comment.

Also read: Potential Buyers Circling Dick Clark Productions, Likely Price of Close to $400M (Exclusive)

DCP is owned by Red Zone Capital, the private equity firm run by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Clark, who died earlier this year, sold his interest in the company in 2007.

CBS is one of four to six bidders moving into a second round of discussions with DCP, according to Reuters.

Other bidders include CORE Media Group, which manages brands like Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, and Colony Capital, the investment firm run by Thomas J. Barrack, Jr. that owns a stake in Miramax.

Prior to hearing bids, DCP prevailed in a bruising legal fight against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the group that created the Golden Globes. The HFPA argued that DCP renegotiated its contract with NBC without its consent and without putting it out for bid to other networks, but a judge ultimately sided with DCP.

However, CBS president and CEO Les Moonves was a key witness for the HFPA, arguing that had the bidding for broadcast rights been opened up to other networks, he would have paid more than NBC. In a written deposition, the network chief said he would be willing to pay between $25 million and $30 million for the broadcast. That is more than the $21 million NBC pays annually for the awards show.

Comments