NBCU Buys Full Ownership Of Sprout

Comcast's NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group said it increased its stake to full ownership of Sprout, the preschool network, by buying out its partners at PBS and HIT Television Ventures, a company controlled by Apax Funds.

Launched in 2005 as a joint venture among Comcast, PBS, Sesame Workshop and HIT Entertainment, Sprout will now be 100% owned and integrated within the Cable Entertainment Group "as it deepens its commitment to building an overall kids and family entertainment strategy," NBCU said in a release.

"We see enormous potential in Sprout, and we are committed to our investment in the kids and family arena," Bonnie Hammer, chairman, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, said in the release. "This acquisition furthers our strategy to create and deliver the very best content across all of our audiences."

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