If the UFC does succeed in purchasing a controlling interest in G4, they're going to have to pay for it. According to reports, the transaction may end up costing the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) approximately $600 million. Bloomberg has the report:
UFC Reportedly Facing $600 Million Sticker Price For NBC Universal’s G4 Channel
NBC Universal's G4 channel may fetch as much as $600 million in a sale to Ultimate Fighting Championship, according to analysts including David Joyce of Miller Tabak & Co.
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)'s NBC Universal is in talks to sell the video-game channel to UFC, the mixed-martial-arts fighting league, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. G4 reaches 60 million U.S. homes, and may command $5 to $10 per home in a sale, Joyce said. David Bank, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, gave the same estimate.
Negotiations are early and a deal may not be reached, said the people, who aren't authorized to speak publicly. Ultimate Fighting Championship's contract with Viacom Inc. (VIA/B)'s Spike TV ends this year, one of the people said. More broadly distributed cable channels with bigger advertising revenue can fetch as much as $20 per subscriber, Joyce said.
UFC President Dana White insists his organization is talking to “everybody”. He also challenged previous financial figures reported in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times regarding payouts the UFC received and asked from Spike TV with respect to licensing rights. SB Nation MMA can confirm the prices listed were meant for the entire duration of the arrangement, not a single calendar year.
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