Vulcan Confirms Oxygen Media Deal

Vulcan Ventures Inc., Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen’s investment company, confirmed Wednesday that it has agreed to invest up to $100 million in Oxygen Media Inc., a closely held media venture that caters to women.

Vulcan will take an undisclosed minority stake in New York-based Oxygen, and join Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Entertainment Group on Oxygen’s board of directors.

Allen, who owns No. 7 cable operator Charter Communications Inc., is funding companies such as Oxygen that can provide programming and interactive entertainment for his cable systems.

The investment represents a much-needed cash infusion for Oxygen, which is scheduled to begin its 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week cable network in February.

Former Walt Disney Co. executive Geraldine Laybourne founded Oxygen last year to produce female-oriented Internet sites and television programming. Some of its Web sites are already online.

Laybourne said Oxygen had committed to spending about $400 million during the next five years to develop its cable programming and Internet content. The $100-million investment “gets us through the early part of 2000” she said.

Laybourne, the executive behind the rise of Viacom Inc.’s popular Nickelodeon cable channel, is positioning Oxygen to compete with Lifetime Television, a joint venture between Disney and Hearst Corp., that specializes in programming for women.