CBS Takes A Stake In AXS TV

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Broadcasting behemoth CBS Corp. has announced that they are taking minority stake in AXS TV, the entertainment channel owned by AEG and billionaire Mark Cuban.

The deal will see CBS in a strategic partnership with AXS, providing content and access at events such as the Grammy Awards and the Country Music Awards. CBS will continue to broadcast the programs, but AXS will be provided with special backstage access. CBS will also help with the promotion of AXS TV across its network of television, radio and billboard holdings.

The announcement was made by Leslie Moonves, President and CEO of CBS Corporation, Tim Leiweke President and CEO of AEG, and Mark Cuban, who will continue to lead the network in his current role as President and CEO of AXS TV. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed but the Los Angeles Times reported that CBS did not extend any cash or stock in the deal.

AXS TV was launched last July as a joint venture between Cuban and AEG and is currently available to about 38 million households in the U.S., and is carried by DirecTV, Dish, Comcast Cable and Charter Communications, though not Time-Warner.

"CBS is happy to provide AXS TV with live event content as the basis of this partnership," said Moonves. "This is an innovative way to use our tentpole programming to gain more ownership in the cable network business. AXS TV will now serve as a terrific complement to our existing broadcast television entertainment programming." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers