S. Samuel
Rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has reportedly lost out on a pricey bid for Fuse TV to ex-girlfriend and renowned movie star Jennifer "J. Lo" Lopez.
According to reports, J. Lo’s NuvoTV network put up nearly $230 million for the channel.
UPDATED: NuvoTV, where Jennifer Lopez serves as chief creative officer and owns a minority stake, reached a deal to buy the cable channel from the Madison Square Garden Company. NuvoTV, the English-language cable channel where Jennifer Lopez is a minority owner and serves as the network’s chief creative offer, has reached an agreement to acquire Fuse from Madison Square Garden Company for $226 million. (Hollywood Reporter)
Details of Puff Daddy’s hefty bid scattered across the Internet a few weeks ago.
Sean Combs wants to light a fuse under his new cable network Revolt. The hip-hop mogul is said to have made a bid to buy Fuse, a music channel owned by Madison Square Garden Co. The bid comes after Combs launched his own music cable network Revolt TV last year. If Combs is successful in his efforts to acquire Fuse, he would most likely replace it with Revolt. Fuse is in over 70 million homes, while Revolt, which only launched last fall, is in a fraction of that. The rap star offered $200 million for Fuse, according to Bloomberg News. That is far less than the more than $300 million that New York-based MSG sought when it put the music cable channel up for a possible sale last year, a former Fuse executive said. (Los Angeles Times)
Reports also claimed Puff tried to get his hands on Fuse in recent years.
This is not the first time Combs has made a run at Fuse. He was part of a group of potential buyers that made an offer a few years ago, the former Fuse staffer said. A representative for Revolt TV declined to comment. An MSG spokesman said, “as we have stated, we are exploring strategic alternatives for Fuse, and will have no further comment during what is still an ongoing process.” (Los Angeles Times)
Geared toward all-music everything, Diddy recently said he wanted to take a gradual pace at growing the Revolt brand.
“In the first 24 months we want you to turn on the channel from whatever device or site — Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr — and get the best music the world has to offer and real-time news and interviews. I am a marathon runner. I ran the New York City marathon and almost died. I tried to run like a two-minute mile early on in the race. I was crazy enough to think I could win. After seven miles I thought I would die, but I slowed down my pace and kept going. The first couple of miles with Revolt we want to run at a nice pace. The programming will be music, music, music. In 20 years we haven’t had the right kind of curated music done in the right way. It will be news shows where we ask the tough questions that when artists are on they know they have made it. It could be festivals or sponsoring a nightclub event. When you turn to this network I want you to know you will see music content and high journalistic standards.” (Ad Age)
