Bloomberg News Plays Matchmaker; Wonders if CBS & Time Warner Will Hook-Up

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It's spring and romance is in the air, which has Bloomberg News all atwitter in an article contemplating a union between thriving media giants Time Warner and CBS.

Time Warner may still be on the rebound from its painful 2009 break-up with AOL, with which it exchanged vows in 2001 to the tune of $124 billion. Both Time Warner and CBS already have dipped their toes in relationship waters as partners in the CW Network.

Bloomberg News reported that both merger candidates are attractive New Yorkers, with CBS presently the broadcast television ratings champ and Time Warner, owner of cable outlets CNN and TNT along with one of Hollywood's busiest movie studios. Whether the match made in broadcast heaven occurs depends largely on the whims of 89-year-old mogul Sumner Redstone, who holds more than three-quarters of CBS's voting rights.

The Bloomberg article speculates that CBS could come with a $35 billion price tag, not including the cost of catering,a band and the honeymoon. Neither of the would-be lovebirds commented for the story.

CBS Joins Lionsgate in TV Guide Network Ownership

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CBS Corp., which already enjoys the largest viewership among U.S. commercial tv networks and boasts ownership of premium cable channel Showtime, has purchased a 50 percent stake in the 32-year-old TV Guide Network ("TVGN") from JP Morgan Chase & Co.'s One Equity Partners.

CBS will share ownership of TVGN with Lionsgate Entertainment, which bought TVGN in 2009 for a reported $241.6 million (later unloading a 49 percent share to One Equity Partners), a heftier price tag than the roughly $100 million CBS doled out for its half-share, according to accounts in the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg News and Deadline.com Web site. TVGN, which reaches 80 million homes, has made an awkward shift in the past four years from a combination of infomercials and scrolling grid of tv program listings, to the grid and reruns of enterainment programming such as Who's the Boss?, Designing Women and Dharma & Greg. Far from "must-see" television, though in fairness, TVGuide.com has been robust, growing to more than 25 million monthly online visitors, according to Deadline.com.

Lionsgate is the force behind cable tv hits, including Weeds, Mad Men and Nurse Jackie.