Landmark Communications, the parent of "The Weather Channel," has put the property up for sale for an approximate $5 billion. Lankmark is owned by the Batten family from Virginia.
The channel was launched in 1982, and originally drew a large company of meteorology fans to the show. It has expanded its offerings beyond weather alone, to "docudramas" like Storm Stories, which show recreated instances of people battling the elements.
Chairman Frank Batten said they've enlisted the help of Lehman Brothers (LEH) and JP Morgan (JPM) to explore how the company should go ahead.
"At this early stage, we cannot speculate on where this process will lead," he said. "We will consider various options and, at the end, we will advise employees and customers of our conclusions."
Also under the Landmark umbrella are internet sites weather.com and weather.co.uk. They also supply much of the weather forecasts seen on web portals like Yahoo (YHOO), and also to 157 newspapers.
The various weather properties together generated $1.75 billion in revenue for 2007, and the TV channel reaches a total of 96 million households.
Part of the reason it is valued by advertisers is the "live" factor. There's no ambiguity as to whether people are tuning in live to the show, which is still of high value to marketers and agencies in the DVR age.
Along with the TV and internet properties, the company also owns the News & Record in Greensboro, North Carolina Virginian-Pilot newspaper and the Roanoke Times in Virginia.
Some of those reportedly interested in the property are News Corp. (NWS-A), Comcast (CMCSA) and General Electric (GE).
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