There were rumors late last year that Fox TV would be selling their action sports channel Fuel TV to Viacom, but then things slowed down. Until now. Rumors surfaced again today that Viacom will pay a low to mid-nine-digit figure to buy the action sports channel which may be a very good thing for Fuel TV.
Viacom is known for its portfolio of cable channels that cater to youth culture, including MTV and MTV2, as well as the former Fuel TV program “Nitro Circus” featuring Travis Pastrana. Viacom is also behind Alli Sports which sponsors the Dew Tour and therefore, action sports programming from the tour -which was in competition with Fuel TV.
If Viacom wins Fuel TV, then it’s rumored that Fuel TV can not only tap into a much larger budget, but would fit nicely into Viacom’s strategy for gathering cable channels catering to a young market through music and action sports. However this may mean Fuel TV would have to move from LA to NYC.
Meanwhile Fox, it is rumored, would fill the Fuel TV spot with Nat Geo Wild and other programming from Fox’s reality TV series.
Stay tuned for more.
