Weather Channel Bidding: Sunny With High Chance of Acquisition

Bids for the channel were due Friday night, with a number of the media giants reportedly jumping in, and we could have news of a winner as soon as next week. And despite reports that a consortium of NBC Universal, Blackstone Group and Bain Capital are in the lead, sources close to the bidding say that talk of a frontrunner is premature. Though the Weather Channel's owner, Landmark Communications, was originally looking for $5 billion for the asset, which includes mobile and online, now the bids are coming in at some $3.5 billion in stock and debt. So what's Weather Channel worth? For one thing, it's one of the last remaining independent cable assets at a time where cable channels are the strongest drivers of media giants' growth. The other factor making the Weather Channel appealing is its position as a strong "vertical" brand--media-speak for a go-to destination that transcends the TV format to also draw users on the web or on your mobile phone.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/24936254