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CBS Corporation is among a number of companies reportedly interested in buying Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions (DCP).
CBS is keen to secure rights to the awards ceremony, according to sources quoted by news agency Reuters over the weekend.
NBC currently airs the show but US broadcast market leader CBS already has the Grammys and The People’s Choice Awards ceremonies. A judge handed DCP rights to the Golden Globes earlier this year, following the firm’s legal dispute with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
DCP CEO Mark Shapiro and chairman Daniel Snyder are said to be asking for US$350m for the company, which earlier this year lost its founder, Dick Clark, who passed away at the age of 82. Snyder’s Red Zone Capital owns DCP.
CBS is reportedly up against between four and six competing bids, including one from American Idol producer Core Media Group (CMG) and another from Idol presenter Ryan Seacrest, through his outfit Ryan Seacrest Productions (RSP).
CMG (formerly CKX) recently acquired Man vs Food producer Sharp Entertainment to go with assets such as the Elvis Presley image rights but appears hungry for more brands.
RSP’s parent, Ryan Seacrest Media, received a US$300m cash injection from private equity firms Bain Capital and Thomas H Lee in January, as part of a move that saw radio broadcaster Clear Channel take a minority stake.
Guggenheim Partners, which acquired the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team for US$2.15bn in March, and Miramax owner Colony Capital have also reportedly tabled offers for DCP, which also coproduces Fox reality talent series So You Think You Can Dance.
