DISCOVERY, BSKYB LIKELY BUYERS OF BRITAIN’S CHANNEL 5

Discovery Communications and Britain’s BSkyB, controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, have made a joint bid for the U.K.’s Channel 5 television network, Bloomberg News reported today (Wednesday), citing people familiar with the talks. Viacom, the wire service reported, “has also taken part in the sale process.” Channel 5 is owned by Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell, which reportedly had originally sought more than £700 million (about $1.1 billion) for the network but is considering bids that have come in at about half that amount, according to Bloomberg. Northern & Shell, which also owns the London newspapers the Daily Star and the Express, as well as the British edition of OK! magazine, acquired Channel 5 in 2010 from Germany’s RTL Group, owned by Bertelsmann, for £103.5 million.