MSG Weighs Fuse Sale

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Madison Square Garden Co. has hired investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co. with an eye towards the potential sale of MSG's music television network Fuse.

“We have been approached by certain parties expressing interest in Fuse and have retained JPMorgan to explore all strategic alternatives,” a rep from MSG told Bloomberg via email.

Previously known as MuchMusic, Fuse caters to a wide variety of music and targets the coveted 18-34 year-old demographic with both on-air and online music that reaches about 73 million households in the U.S. The actual value of Fuse is something of a question as well. Fuse gets approximately 6 cents a month per subscriber from pay-tv services who are the largest carrier of Fuse, but the channel faces increasing competition from online services such as Youtube and Vevo.

MSG has reportedly been looking for a suitor for Fuse since at least late 2012 and earlier this year, the New York Post reported that Guggenheim Partners boss Alan Schwartz, also an MSG board member, had been quietly approaching potential buyers. – Staff Writers