Will Virgin get good enough price for Its channels?

摘要

There should be no shortage of takers for Virgin Media's diverse range of channels, but the terms under which they are made available, and at what price, is likely to son out the serious bidders from the merely interested. The jewel in the crown is undoubtedly the 50-per-cent stake in UKTV - if the BBC wanted a new partner rather than take full ownership of the company. But as one observer put it, a buyer would get what, in effect would amount to just 30 per cent of the joint venture because of the control the BBC has on how its content can be used. While BBC Worldwide is thought to have a veto over a change of control, there have been suggestions that this is really a "matching right", or worse, a termination right which would dissolve the joint venture. BSkyB has been named as a possible bidder and would be keen to get its hands on the BBC back catalogue. But the competition issues that this would raise might well be too much to overcome, as the deal would combine the UK's two largest basic-tier channel portfolios.