Comcast to buy the rest of FSN New England
Cable provider Comcast Corp. will purchase a 50-percent interest in FSN New England, assuming full ownership of the sports channel.
The move had been expected, and a Globe story in February said such a deal would give Philadelphia-based Comcast full control over the rights to air Boston Celtics basketball games because Comcast already owns the other 50 percent of FSN.
The seller is Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp. of Bethpage, N.Y.
Under the proposed sales agreement, Comcast said it will buy a 60 percent interest in FSN Bay Area, a sports channel in Northern California, and a 50 percent interest in FSN New England for $570 million in cash.
For Comcast, the transactions add to its growing regional sports programming operations, and the sale of FSN Bay Area and FSN New England allows a divestiture by Cablevision of its only remaining regional sports programming assets located outside of the New York market, the companies said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
