With Cox Communications about to complete the sale of its stake in Discovery Communications' various networks, the Travel Channel may be put up for sale once the ink dries. A reason for some strong speculation about this is because Cox hasn't shown any interest in operating or promoting this type of network.
When asked, others like Turner Broadcasting and NBC Universal find it an interesting enough possibility to at least take a look at.
One of the underlying challenges would be what the existing terms of programming are, along with what types of other contracts may exist and be in force between the Travel Channel and other partners.
A real problem in all of this for Cox would be that the channel stands alone, similar to Hallmark, which makes it difficult to get stronger licensing fees, along with attention for the network. Under a corporate umbrella of channels it would probably be in a much stronger position.
Even though Hallmark is in the top 10 ad-supported cable networks, they only get from around 60 cents a year from operators for their licensing fees, or a nickel a month.
The other problem for the Travel Channel if it stands alone is that it won't be able to be marketed across other channels of a network like others do.
Because of these things, we'll probably see the channel up for sale sometime in the near future.
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