Hunting and fishing proponent The Sportsman Channel should buttress its programming lineup through its parent company’s purchase of a major production company in the outdoor and adventure category.
Intermedia Outdoors., the owner of The Sportsman Channel and the largest provider of content dedicated to sportsmen, has acquired Barrett Productions for an undisclosed sum. Together, the companies produce more than 10,000 hours of video content targeting the outdoor community, according to IMO, which is owned by InterMedia Partners VII, the private equity fund run by Leo Hindery, the former Tele-Communications, Inc. and Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network executive
The move is the latest gambit in IMO’s intent to build TSC into the top network serving American sportsmen. This May, IMO announced that it would begin shifting all of its programming -- starting with nine series from Outdoor Channel over the course of 2008-09 -- to TSC and away from its competitors. Comcast Corp.-owned Versus, ESPN Outdoors and Maximum Advernture Network and various regional sports networks are other players in the space.
With nearly 30 television shows in production this year, including Guns&Ammo TV, Ducks Unlimited, Petersen’s Hunting, World Billfish Series, In-Fisherman TV and Gore-Tex Adventures, the newly combined entity will be a powerhouse in delivering high-impact outdoors programming with plans to rapidly expand production with the introduction of new shows on TSC in the next 12 months.
“By bringing together Barrett Productions’ talented staff and high quality programming with our high-performing television team, TSC network platform, powerful online network of sites and unparalleled print titles, we will be able to achieve even greater success in serving the needs of sportsmen and providing superior value to our marketing partners,” said IMO executive vice president of television and digital media Willy Burkhardt in a statement.
Added Barrett Productions president John Barrett: “After 18 years of building up an attractive niche in the outdoors television marketplace, the opportunity to join forces with a powerful and professional company like InterMedia Outdoors is a dream come true for us. Our combined video library and production and content creation skills will be unrivaled in the outdoors arena.”
