The Daily Swarm

Billboard.biz:

Multiple sources confirm to Billboard.biz that a deal is imminent for a partnership of Ticketmaster and Madison Square Garden Entertainment owner Cablevision to acquire about 49% of AEG Live, the live entertainment arm of Anschutz Entertainment Goup (AEG). Contacts at the three companies declined to comment.

A key component of the deal is Rainbow Media, a division of Cablevision, which operates Fuse TV, a cable music channel with studios headquartered across from Penn Station and the Garden in New York City. Rainbow Media also includes the cable television networks WE:Women’s Entertainment, Independent Film Channel (IFC) and American Movie Classics (AMC).

Fuse, which sources say will undergo a multi-million dollar rebranding effort, will play a large role in the repositioning of AEG Live as a company now armed with a large media component and the world’s largest ticketing company in Ticketmaster.

Silicon Alley Insider: Cablevision Swings To Profit, Beats Estimates

Earlier: NY Post:

Cablevision has been quietly working with Bear Stearns on ways to enhance shareholder value, including putting a value on its Rainbow Media unit ahead of a possible sale and drawing up a list of targets for potential acquisitions, The Post has learned.

Several sources said that after being sidelined for months in the aftermath of the Dolan family’s failed attempt to go private, the family is trying to “figure out the math” for Cablevision’s next move.