VIACOM CLOSES DEAL TO BUY STRUGGLING U.K. COMMERCIAL NETWORK

Viacom is back in the broadcast TV business — just not the American broadcast TV business. The company that spun off CBS in 2006 has closed a $720-million deal to acquire the British broadcast network Channel 5 (C5). The British trade publication Screen Daily indicated that the deal was able to close following unconditional approval by the European Commission. Simultaneously Channel 5 and Viacom announced several co-productions with Viacom-owned channels MTV and Nickelodeon. In a statement, Viacom President and CEO Philippe Dauman said, "We are committed to strengthening C5’s status as one of UK broadcasting’s premier brands, and we will continue to grow the network’s pipeline of original programming."