US media and technology corporation Comcast has said it is prepared to bid for Comcast SportsNet Houston, the exclusive home of Houston Astros MLB baseball and Houston Rockets NBA basketball games, if it can force a sale of the financially-troubled regional sports broadcaster.
The Reuters news agency said that affiliates of Comcast on Friday filed for involuntary bankruptcy against Houston Regional Sports Network LP, with court papers stating that the broadcaster should be put up for sale for the benefit of creditors.
According to the court documents, Comcast “believes the network's assets have meaningful value, and would be prepared to make a bid to acquire either the network (under a plan of reorganisation) or substantially all of its assets.”
Comcast also said that it wanted the court to appoint a trustee to replace the broadcaster’s management. CSN Houston’s three-member board consists of representatives of Comcast, the Rockets and the Astros.
CSN Houston’s reach has been limited by an ongoing dispute the broadcaster has been engaged in with local cable and satellite television providers over the fee it should receive per subscriber.
Comcast loaned the broadcaster $100m (€73.5m) through an affiliate, adding that it was prepared to provide the necessary funding to keep CSN Houston operational until the bankruptcy could be resolved.