CBS to buy Australia’s Ten Network

SYDNEY: American broadcaster CBS has secured a deal to buy Australia’s third-largest television network, Ten, the embattled station’s administrators said on Monday. The Ten Network was placed in voluntary administration in June after two billionaire backers refused to continue guaranteeing a key loan of Aus$200 million (US$159 million). CBS — one of Ten’s key content providers — will fund the purchase by refinancing existing secured debt arrangements in full, the administrators said in a statement. The agreement came after CBS in July claimed debts of Aus$843 million from Ten in a submission to the network’s administrators, Fairfax Media reported. “Network Ten has played a significant role in Australia’s media landscape over many decades, and the sale of the business to CBS will allow the iconic broadcaster to move into a new chapter on a strong and stable footing,” Ten receiver and PPB Advisory Partner Christopher Hill said in a statement. The deal includes Channel Ten, digital channel One, digital platform Tenplay, and digital channel Eleven — of which CBS already owns a 33 per cent stake. CBS said it would also launch its digital on-demand service CBS All Access in the Australian market. “We have been able to acquire (Network Ten) at a valuation that gives us confidence we will grow this asset by applying our programming expertise in a market with which we are already familiar,” CBS chairman and chief executive Leslie Moonves said in a statement. The deal needs approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board. — AFP