Landmark explores Weather Channel sale

By Paul Thomasch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Media company Landmark Communications said on Thursday it was exploring the sale of its publishing and television businesses including cable network The Weather Channel.

Privately-held Landmark wants more than $5 billion for The Weather Channel and its Web site, according to a New York Times report, which named General Electric Co's (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) NBC Universal, News Corp (NWSa.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as possible bidders.

Landmark said it had not held talks with any potential buyers, but confirmed it had hired JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers to look at its alternatives.

"At this early stage, we cannot speculate on where this process will lead," Landmark Chief Executive Frank Batten Jr. said in a statement.

Landmark's newspapers include The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, The News & Record of Greensboro, North Carolina, The Roanoke (Virginia) Times and nearly 50 community newspapers.

"There's always somebody around who wants to own them for some reason. Media properties rarely don't get sold," said Benchmark Co analyst Ed Atorino.

The Weather Channel would be the most prized asset in a sale because cable networks are more valuable than newspapers, which have been losing advertisers and readers to the Internet and cable networks.

The Weather Channel has attracted viewers with its time-sensitive material as well as programming about hot-button issues on the environment and climate change.