Viacom Pulls Out of Bidding for Scripps Networks

By Jon Lafayette
published

Viacom has withdrawn its interest in acquiring Scripps Networks Interactive, sources said.

The company had reportedly given Scripps Networks an all-cash offer worth $10.6 billion earlier this week.

Discovery Communications, which started the merger talks that seem to have put SNI in play, is still talking with the company.

Related: Scripps, Discovery Stocks Soar on Deal Speculation

For a cable programmer like Discovery or Viacom, acquiring SNI -- with its strong brands led by HGTV and Food Networks -- would create greater scale at a time when distributors are consolidating and consumers are seeking lower cost skinnier bundles of channels.

But analysts say a combination of Discovery and Scripps would not address the industry’s main problems of declining ratings, slow ad revenue growth and subscribers shifting from pay TV to digital video. 

News of Viacom’s withdrawal from the bidding for Scripps was earlier reported by Variety.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.