E! Buys C/NET’s Stake in Online Web Venture

Los Angeles-based E! Entertainment Television said it purchased C/NET Inc.’s 50% stake in their E! Online entertainment news venture for about $10 million. C/NET also agreed to license certain technology and provide consulting services for the service, which provides entertainment news, interviews, games, chat rooms, databases and reviews on the World Wide Web. E! Entertainment Television, an entertainment network, is a venture of five media companies, with Comcast Corp. and Walt Disney Co. holding the largest stakes. San Francisco-based C/NET provides Internet technology consulting and integrates television programming with Web sites. C/NET shares rose $2.23 to close at $29.88 on Nasdaq.