Advanced Television

Cuban sells cable channels

September 11, 2019

By Chris Forrester

Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team and Shark Tank judge, was an early and enthusiastic adopter of HD television broadcasting. He has now sold his stake in his HDNet suite of cable channels.

His HDNet cable channels were launched in 2001 and one of the very first to offer viewers HD television. It was rebranded as AXS TV (‘access TV’) in 2012 with a number of co-partners including TV personality Ryan Seacrest, CBS, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and Anschultz Entertainment.

The network’s programming specialises in live music events, as well as comedy, movies, and mixed martial arts, among others. HDNet Movies is available to more than 50 million US homes.

Cuban has sold his channels to Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Anthem operates linear and digital channels in the US and Canada devoted to wrestling, Fight Network (43 million homes), hunting and fishing & gaming.

Leonard Asper, CEO of Anthem, in a statement, said: “The addition of AXS TV and HDNet Movies will allow for increased content ownership, digital expansion and even more compelling programming for consumers and our distribution partners.

Terms were not disclosed.

Categories: Articles, Business, Cable, M&A