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The names of possible buyers are flying as Cox Communications has decided to sell its majority stake in the Travel Channel. The Financial Times lists media groups from Scripps Networks Interactive and Time Warner to Comcast and News Corp as possible buyers for the network.  The list of possible buyers from Reuters also includes CBS Corp and NBC Universal.

Cox acquired The Travel Channel in 2007 as part of a buyout from Discovery Communications. In June Bloomberg reported Cox Communications received unsolicited inquiries about the Travel Channel and hired Goldman, Sachs & Co. to evaluate options.

At the time of the Discovery buyout, the channel’s value was estimates at $1.25 billion. Bloomberg also reports that a Barclays Capital credit analyst believes current market conditions may hold the value of the Travel Channel in the range of $600 million to $700 million.

Any fan of Travel Channel shows like “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations,” “Bizarre Foods,” “Man v. Food” and “Great Weekends” will have to wait to see what this sale could mean for their favorite shows.

More Info:

Read the Reuters article here

Read the Financial Time article here

Read the Bloomberg article here