American broadcaster CBS will buy Australia’s troubled Ten Network, which had also attracted attention from a consortium led by Lachlan Murdoch. Ten’s administrators confirmed the purchase on Monday but did not disclose the sale price. The station was placed in voluntary administration in June.Last week Mr Murdoch secured regulatory approval to bid for the firm, though any acquisition would have required changes to media ownership laws. Ten was placed in administration after creditors, which included Mr Murdoch, withdrew a debt guarantee.Like other networks Ten, which caters for younger audiences, has been hit by falling advertising revenues and competition from digital streaming services. Ten, which is one of Australia’s three commercial channels, broadcasts shows such as “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!”.Approval needed”The decision to enter an exclusive transaction deed with CBS followed a rigorous sales process,” administrators KordaMentha and receivers PPB Advisory said in a joint statement on Monday. CBS, the most watched network in the US, already provides content to Ten.The purchase includes Channel Ten, digital channel One, digital platform Tenplay, and digital channel Eleven – of which CBS already owns a 33% stake. The US broadcaster will also launch its digital on-demand service CBS All Access in Australia. The buyout needs approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board.The announcement comes days after Ten’s former billionaire backers – News Corp co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon, who owns regional network WIN – received regulatory approval to bid for the network.But any takeover by the consortium would have been dependent on the government relaxing the rules which put limits on media ownership in Australia. Those conditions would not apply to the CBS buyout.
Source: BBC News