Viacom Offering $10.6B in Cash for Scripps: Report

Viacom is offering to buy Scripps Networks Interactive for $10.6 billion in an all-cash deal, according to a report from Reuters.

Discovery Communications is also reportedly bidding for SNI, which runs cable networks including HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel.

Viacom, which is trying to recover from a loss of viewers and ad revenue at its cable networks, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, already has $12.17 billion in debt, which means a bid would stretch its ability to raise money.

The Reuters report, pegged to sources familiar with the matter, said Discovery was not expected to make an all-cash bid.

None of the companies involved commented.

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.