Discovery in talks to partner with French media company TF1
Cable programming giant Discovery Communications is in talks to form a strategic partnership with French media holding company TF1 Group, parent of the powerful European sports network Eurosport.
Discovery said in a statement that if the negotiations are successful it would invest in TF1’s pay television unit and that the two companies would enter into a “mutually beneficial production relationship.”
Eurosport is the asset Discovery is most interested in as it reaches 123 million households, according to TF1’s website.
Besides Eurosport, TF1 Group also owns the French TV network TF1 and several other pay television properties including a news channel called LCI. It is also available in Australia and parts of Asia.
TF1 disclosed the talks in a regulatory filing.
Discovery, based in Silver Spring, Md., is one of the biggest content owners in the United States. Besides the Discovery Channel, it owns TLC and is a partner in the OWN and HUB networks. Discovery has been aggressively expanding overseas over the past few years.
Follow Joe Flint on Twitter @JBFlint.
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