Hindery’s InterMedia Outdoors Holdings to Acquire Sportsman Channel

Private-Equity Firm Run by Former YES, TCI Exec Owns Magazines Including Fly Fisherman, Guns & Ammo

By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 6/4/2007 12:04:00 AM

Leo Hindery is about to snare The Sportsman Channel: InterMedia Outdoors Holdings is expected to announce Monday that it has completed its acquisition of the hunting and fishing proponent.

A portfolio company of InterMedia Partners VII -- the media-focused private-equity firm run by Hindery, the former Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network and Tele-Communications Inc. executive -- InterMedia Outdoors owns 17 hunting, fishing and shooting magazines, including such well-known and successful titles as Fly Fisherman and Guns & Ammo. It also controls an online/digital network, 11 TV series, syndicated radio properties, consumer events and brand-driven merchandising businesses.

The companies intend to integrate a variety of sales and marketing functions. Additionally, InterMedia Outdoors will produce a number of new original shows for Sportsman and will use its vast library to trigger a robust video-on-demand offering.

Sportsman founder C. Michael Cooley, who will continue to serve as president and CEO of the channel, said in a prepared statement: “We are extremely excited to become part of the InterMedia Outdoors family. In addition to being the destination for the independent production community, we intend to use InterMedia Outdoors’ extensive TV library, their brands and their experienced in-house production capabilities to enhance network programming.”

He added, “Simply stated, The Sportsman Channel will now have the tools that no other outdoor network has ever had and will use those tools to promote the network and its distributors and to better serve the true outdoor enthusiast.”