Five to decide its future this week
The fate of broadcaster Five could be decided as early as this Friday, according to reports.
It’s understood parent company RTL will hold a board meeting, attended by RTL CEO Gerhard Zeiler and Five CEO Dawn Airey, during which a decision will be made as to which bids to pursue.
Express Newspapers owner Richmond Desmond has been tipped the favourite, having offered £100m for the broadcaster, the highest sum of the three bidders including NBC Universal and Channel 4.
This month Five announced its plans to withdraw from the BBC-led IPTV joint venture Project Canvas. But Desmond is understood to be willing to pay the broadcaster’s £20m share to keep it in the venture.
Desmond, who bought Express Newspapers a decade ago, is understood to have £1bn to play with.
This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk