Here’s some news for Fuse: Madison Square Garden Co. is mulling the future of the cable music network.
Sources said MSG has been weighing options for the channel, including selling all or part of it and bringing in new content partners in exchange for an equity stake.
“They’ve received interest from various major media companies asking if there’s interest in a strategic partnership,” said one source.
A Fuse spokesman declined to comment.
One idea being floated by outsiders is merging Fuse with AXS-TV, a live entertainment network backed by Mark Cuban, AEG, “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest and Hollywood talent agency CAA.
Cablevision, controlled by the family of Jim Dolan, spun off both Rainbow Media and MSG into separate publicly traded companies. Rainbow controlled Fuse until 2010, when it was transferred to MSG.
While it changed hands, Fuse struggled to carve out an identity. Last month, it rebranded its primetime, hiring Alexa Chung to front “Fuse News,” a show devoted to covering the music industry and helmed by former CNN chief Rick Kaplan.
Far less known than MTV, Fuse is available in about 65 million homes. The channel on average gets six cents a month per subscriber from pay-TV providers, according to SNL Kagan.
With its low ratings, Fuse has proven to be vulnerable in negotiations with cable and satellite-TV operators. Time Warner Cable dropped the channel from its lineup in a battle with MSG over programming fees – but then returned it last February when they struck a new deal.
In addition, Fuse is facing fresh competition from Vevo. The online music video hub, which gets most of its traffic through its integration with YouTube, just launched a more TV-like service that is fully programmed.