Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Digital Inc. announced Monday that they are teaming up to turn SPE's Game Show Network into the first 24-hour, game-based interactive television network.
Liberty Digital, a major U.S. player in emerging interactive television, will acquire a 50 percent stake in Game Show Network, a game software distribution company based in California, for $225 million in cash and $50 million in Liberty Digital stock, Liberty Digital said.
The transaction is expected to close by yearend.
The two companies say they intend to strengthen the Game Show Network and position it as the premier TV programming service dedicated exclusively to games, game playing and game shows 24 hours a day.
Founded in 1994, the network has 29 million subscribers in the United States.
Sony Pictures Entertainment is a division of Sony Corp. of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corp.