American television network NBC plans to use newly acquired cable channel Bravo as an outlet for original programming considered too risky for the flagship broadcast service.
General Electric-owned NBC agreed the acquisition of Bravo on Monday [WAMN: 04-Oct-02]. It is paying $1.25 billion (€1.25m; £0.8m) in cash and shares to take full control of the channel from Cablevision and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The network’s chairman/ceo Bob Wright revealed the new acquisition would allow the group to expand the range of programming it can commission. Ideas previously turned down as too edgy for broadcast TV could now end up on Bravo.
For example, a show called Journeys With George (following the president’s 2000 campaign trail) was made by an NBC producer but could not find a place on the network, ending up on AOL Time Warner-owned cable channel HBO.
“That,” declared Wright, “would be something we would seriously consider for Bravo.”
Delivering arts and entertainment fare into around 68 million US homes, Bravo will sit alongside NBC’s cable news networks CNBC and MSNBC.
Data sourced from: Financial Times; additional content by WARC staff
