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MTV to acquire SonicNet
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May 20, 1999: 8:50 a.m. ET
Online music deal part of network's push to expand Web presence
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - MTV Networks said Thursday that it will acquire online music site SonicNet, saying the move is part of its strategy to sharply boost its presence on the Internet.
MTV, a division of Viacom, Inc., said it will acquire SonicNet from TCI Music Inc .'s (TUNE) subsidiary Liberty Media.
Liberty, which will be renamed Liberty Digital, in turn will acquire a 10 percent stake in MTV Networks' Web sites. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"There's been a lot of talk about who's going to be the MTV of Internet," MTV spokeswoman Carole Robinson said Thursday. "We in fact are the MTV of the Internet."
The transaction is scheduled to close next month.
SonicNet offers music news and information as well as live concerts. It also owns a number of other music sites featuring music reviews and a movie review search engine that MTV also will acquire.
MTV also is acquiring Liberty's interactive music cable channel TheBox as part of the deal. The companies also said they would jointly launch an interactive music channel later this year for advanced digital delivery cable boxes.
Viacom shares closed Wednesday at 41-1/8, up 9/16. TCI Music was up 3-1/4 to 49.
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