Speedvision and Outdoor Life Networks Founder & CEO
Roger Werner told DAILY VARIETY's John Dempsey that both
networks will "go into the black next year." Werner said
that Speedvision will reach 24 million subscribers by the
end of the year, with "guaranteed rollouts expected to swell
the total to 30 million by December 2000." Outdoor Life has
21 million subscribers and "is on track to get to 25 million
by the end of next year." Dempsey writes that the "healthy
subscriber growth has lifted the asset value of the two
networks combined to $750 million, grabbing the attention"
of Fox, which has a 30% stake in the nets and "can exercise
an option to take over management control of both by April
2001. With its new NASCAR TV package and National
Geographic Channel start-up, Dempsey writes that Fox has
assets with which Speedvision and Outdoor Life "would fit
comfortably." One source said license fees from cable
operators are "averaging" about $35M this year for each
network and are expected to hit $45M "or so next year."
Advertisers have also "begun to take notice," and the source
predicts that the $10M "each network generates in ad revenue
should double" in 2000 (DAILY VARIETY, 12/20).
